Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“You can’t be serious.”

“Sure I can,” Clark grinned. “Come on, we’ve all been meaning to spend time with each other off the clock, so why not schedule a game night? At least once a month.”

“That part I understand,” Bruce rumbled, perched in the monitor station’s chair and not bothering to look over his shoulder. “But a roleplaying game?”

“I thought you of all people might enjoy that.”

“Hn.”

“At least look over the game itself before you come to a decision, alright? Most of the pre-made campaigns feature mysteries for players to investigate, and the rules are pretty quick to pick up. I had to explain tabletop RPGs to J’onn and Diana, but they’re both interested, and Wally said yes even before I finished speaking...”

His grin grew wider as Bruce let out a small, almost unnoticeable sigh. “What’s it called.”

“Wolfen and Warlocks,” Clark told him, and blinked when his friend’s fingers paused on the keyboard. “It’s based on this book series called Stories From Sarant - I picked the box up off the shelf because I remembered reading the first one when I was in middle school-”

“Wolfen’s Rage,” Bruce said softly, and then it became Clark’s turn to pause. “I’m familiar.”

Despite giving him a moment, the other man didn’t add anything else. Feeling a little more cautious, Clark went on, “Well, I still need to check with John and Shayera, but so far I’m thinking next Thursday? We can use our usual meeting room here, or get one of the smaller rec halls, or I could host at my apartment in Metropolis.”

His friend grunted, hands once more tapping across the station controls. “Watchtower would be better in case there’s an emergency. And then you wouldn’t have to cater.”

“True.” Clark let his head tip to one side, half wishing (not for the first time) that his x-ray vision would let him see the thoughts inside people’s heads, and not just their physical brain tissue. “Well, in that case, I’ll get you the introductory player’s guide to look over beforehand. I figured we could all roll up some characters together, maybe play a sample encounter to get a feel for things before we schedule a full campaign run.”

Another grunt. Slightly lighter, though, which he took to mean yes, fine, now go away and let me work.

“Alright, then. See you later, Bruce.”

Thursday rolled around, and Clark fully expected to need to engage in more careful cajoling to bring all six of his oldest teammates into the recreation room he’d reserved for the afternoon. Instead, he got to feel pleasantly surprised, walking through the door with J’onn to find Bruce, Diana, John and Shayera all present, Wally zipping in on his heels carrying an armful of snacks.

“What?” The speedster asked, when a few eyebrows were raised in his direction. “You can’t have a game session without junk food!”

Clark started setting things up with a small smile, listening as the others teased and bickered with one another. He honestly couldn’t remember the last time all seven of them settled in the same space that wasn’t their private meeting room to discuss League matters - if the game worked out and became a regular thing, he’d have to thank his Pa again for the idea.

“Alright,” he eventually called, sliding paper and freshly sharpened pencils around the table. “You all looked over at least the intro booklet, right? Who wants to start with what they’ve got in mind for a character?”

“Goblin,” Wally immediately said. “I’m gonna call him Bert, but with a ‘y’!”

Clark dutifully wrote down Goblin, Byrt

“I think I’d like to try a minotaur,” Diana went next. “With a background in hand to hand combat.”

Minotaur went a line below Wally’s goblin, even as Clark said, “Remember this is a chance to experiment with being someone other than ourselves, guys.”

“Whoops,” Shayera said in a dry tone. When Clark raised his eyebrows, she shrugged. “I want to play a harpy.”

Wally promptly choked on his mouthful of potato chips, and John snorted. “Let me guess, with a mace and some of those Close Combat moves?”

“The level one inventory options don’t have a mace,” the Thanagarian huffed. “I picked the heavy walking staff, instead.”

“That’s still impact damage-”

“And what did you want to play, Stewart?”

For a brief moment, John looked embarrassed, before doubling down into a stubborn scowl. “Human. With elemental magic.”

Shayera immediately leaned forward, elbow braced on the table and hand tucked below her chin, smirking. “Light magic?”

“Look, the Break of Dawn and Gleaming Prison spells-”

“I have decided to create an anonian character,” J’onn cut in, thankfully before the pair of exes could really get rolling. “One of the Forest type, with an innate paralytic touch ability.”

“And also green scales, if I remember right,” Clark couldn’t help but say, even as he added to the list with a renewed grin: Harpy, Human, Anonian (Dragon-folk)

“I think I’d like to know what you’ve chosen for yourself before you throw any further stones, Clark.” Diana folded her arms with an expectant expression.

“Orc,” he promptly shot back.

“Which faction,” Bruce rumbled from his seat.

Ah. Well. “...meckle orc.”

His friend smirked. “So a farmer, then.”

“What’s your choice,” Clark asked instead of answering, ignoring how some of the others snickered. Bruce’s smirk stayed in place as he produced a short stack of index cards from his utility belt, each covered with scribbled notes. He plucked off the top one and held it out, letting Clark see- “A fairy?”

“Based off the moth species melanodes anthracitaria,” Bruce somehow said with utter sincerity, even as John coughed to hide his amusement and Wally let out an almost inhuman wheeze. A small square photograph came out of the stack of notes, paperclipped to a card with a simple sketch of a humanoid figure with wings the same shape as the real moth. Black, of course, with silver-grey markings. “His name is Thomarwyn. I’ve done some research on the novels and put together a basic background and family history in line with what the author’s written about her various cultures.”

“Size category, Tiny,” Shayera read from her copy of the intro player’s guide, lips slowly curling up into a wicked smile. “Not going to be able to punch very many bad guys when you’re only two feet tall.”

“No, but I’ll be able to get in and out of places the rest of you won’t.”

And that was when it clicked for Clark. “You’ve made him a detective, haven’t you?”

“Hn.”

On the other side of the table, Wally got enough breath back to say, “Bat-Moth!” And promptly start wheezing with laughter again.

With a few more stops and starts, they managed to get everyone set up with the basics.

Wally’s goblin came with a +3 Agility bonus, and he leaned into making it his highest stat to increase the number of spaces he could move across the map in a single action. His abilities reflected the same, banking on being able to dodge and avoid incoming attacks, with the one exception being Heckle, a spell that would draw a single target’s unwavering attention while simultaneously reducing the output of their own abilities.

Diana named her minotaur Pasiphae, and gave her a couple of Hand to Hand abilities that relied on a high Strength stat to deal serious damage. She also picked out two spells from the Focus category, Battle Cry and Adrenaline Rush, to help boost said strength and let her hit even harder.

Shayera’s harpy was given the name Jayne after many back-and-forth remarks (“That is an unusual name as far as I’m concerned!” “Well at least change the spelling so she matches with the others-” "Fine, I'll throw in a 'y'."). She received all four Close Combat attacks, which meant a bonus Divine Call in addition to the one her species came with automatically. “I don’t need gods,” the woman grumbled when Clark pointed it out, “Especially not ones who’ll show up to help but expect something in return for it later.”

“Should’ve picked an Arriv character instead of one of the Amkyn races, then,” John told her. His human, Hevrin, also earned a Divine Call by picking up all four Light spells, which were either 50/50 hit or miss or else required the cost of a few Health Points to cast, so he spent some of his character’s money to pick up armor with Fortitude bonuses for a larger health pool. Leveling up later would provide the opportunity to upgrade those spells, to guarantee their success with each use or else reduce the cost.

J’onn decided on Amrit for his anonian’s name, and chose three Soul abilities to give her: Brink of Death, to keep another character from dying, Reflective Protection, an enchanted shield, and Request Audience, which summoned ghosts they could question for useful information. For the fourth ability, J’onn chose Sustenance, a Growth spell that provided food any character could eat to restore HP or save for later.

Bruce absolutely leaned into the ‘detective’ role for Thomarwyn, making his highest stats Intuition, Attunement, and Charm, to provide bonuses on his rolls for initiative and interaction, as well as improve the output of his Tricks - one called Discretion, essentially a stealth mode for sneaking around, but also Pick Pocket, which the rest of the table couldn’t resist needling him over.

Clark named his orc Kelal, and did his best to ignore the raised brows while rolling dice to determine his stats and picking out abilities. He went with a Sacrificial spell, Share Wound, which would require a health cost but pay it back threefold to the target in need of healing, and then a couple from the Sorcery category, Lucky Pebble and Shield of Stone. For his fourth option, though, he couldn’t resist choosing an Arcane spell: Hover. “Flying is always useful,” he argued, when Bruce gave him a judgmental stare. “If we need to get over a wall, or something happens to make the ground dangerous, my orc’s large enough he can grab everyone without wings and-”

“Up, up, and away?”

“You’re mocking me now, but just wait until we need to get over a pool of lava or something.”

Once they all picked out items from the Trading Post list of inventory options, armor and weapons and foodstuffs, Clark laid out his first thought for an example encounter to bring all their characters together.

“A portal opens up in this Borderlands town we’re all passing through, and Krystori elementals are coming through to attack people - we need to fight the foot soldiers, deal with the big commander, and figure out how to close down the portal.” Without one of the printed maps that came with the pre-made campaigns, he’d set down a big square whiteboard with a grid in the middle of the table, and drawn some circles and rectangles to indicate buildings, with a few generic tokens provided by the box set to represent the elementals as they spread out from the portal. There were also tokens with stylized letters and symbols that could be placed as stand-ins for player characters, which Clark set down in random spots around the ‘town’ under attack. “So- who wants to go first?”

“Aren’t we supposed to roll for that?” Wally asked, but Bruce was already leaning forward and reaching for his token.

The small wooden disk moved ten squares to the left, to a point with a clear line of sight towards the portal. “I’m going to cast Discretion, and try to get closer on my next turn.”

“Alright, go ahead and-” A single six-sided die rolled across the table, landing on the number three before Clark could finish. “Okay, that’s three rounds you won’t be noticed by anyone unless you attack or otherwise interact with them.”

Bruce nodded and sat back, two actions taken and his turn over for the moment. In the next chair over, Diana gestured towards a pair of elemental tokens next to the building her character was inside. “I’d like to use one action to get out onto the street, and another to cast Adrenaline Rush.”

“Okay, that’s a one-dee-six for you too.”

And so it went. They rotated around the table, one by one moving to a more advantageous position and setting up their next actions. Wally went to an intersection and started Heckling the nearest elemental; Shayera got on top of a house and prepared to divebomb another. J’onn cast a shield over Amrit, John summoned a Solari elemental of his own to aid Hevrin with the fight, and Clark put Kelal right in the middle of it all, where he could see each of the others and help them as needed.

Then he started rolling dice as the Krystori invaders reacted.

Some of the stone elementals charged forward to throw punches. Others cracked and split the ground, making it harder to approach them by foot. The biggest one, guarding the portal, created a ring of spikes to better protect it.

And Clark’s friends proved exactly why an RPG was the best choice for them to play, rather than a card or board game.

Wally annoyed different targets into following him into range of Diana’s fists. John pinned others in place for Shayera to strike and destroy. Clark and J’onn cast magical shields and restored health points, keeping everyone else moving, and when Bruce’s fairy reached the others to share what he’d learned about the portal’s crystal power source, the seven of them formed up seamlessly to go after it.

Even better, they all clearly had fun doing so.

Drinks and snacks slid around the table as requested; a few times, stray dice or crumpled bits of paper were tossed at a single person when they did something particularly on the nose, such as Clark making good on his intention to pick up Byrt, Pasiphae, and Hevrin to fly them over the stone spike barrier. Laughter rang out frequently, as well as groans on the inevitable poor dice rolls. Bruce managed to spend most of the game rolling high enough Clark wondered if he was using some sort of sleight of hand - a concern proven drastically wrong when the man tried to hit the big elemental with one of his throwing knives, only to roll a one and miss. Thankfully that high agility stat gave Wally’s goblin enough of a boost to dodge said knife before it could hit him standing on the other side. Still, that didn’t stop him from dramatically calling Bruce a terrible person the rest of the fight, much to the shared glee of everyone else.

Throughout the encounter, Clark used spare actions to cast his Lucky Pebble spell on small pieces of rock, giving them a +5 random stat bonus. By the time they’d defeated the elemental commander, he’d managed to get two that boosted a character’s Strength while held in hand. So, Kelal gave one each to Jayne and Pasiphae, before Shayera and Diana took turns hitting the portal crystal with their strongest attacks at the same point of imperfection Bruce’s Thomarwyn had noticed on his initial inspection. When it shattered, the portal closed, and everyone slumped back in their chairs with the general air of a job well done.

“I admit,” J’onn said after a moment. “That was... more enjoyable than I’d originally anticipated.”

“Drags you in more than I thought it would,” Shayera added, wings flexing as she rolled her shoulders. “Not as good as a real fight, but... fun.”

“Definitely fun,” Diana agreed. “When are we doing this again?”

Clark could feel himself grinning from ear to ear. “I’ll put it on the calendar.”

Of course, not even a full twenty-four hours later, half the League knew about their game session, and were eagerly filling in the rest as the Founders moved through their midst. Clark caught an awful lot of bemused glances when he came up to the Watchtower for his shift, though he wasn’t entirely certain what they were about until he reached the monitor station and found Zatanna fussing at a certain Bat.

“-cannot believe you would agree to play without a proper Storymaster,” the woman said, leaning against the console as she scowled at the seated man. “It adds so much to the gameplay, Bruce, and not just because you don’t have one player pulling double duty!”

“I don’t mind,” Clark said, stepping out of the elevator and drawing her attention.

“It’s not about mind, it’s about maintaining the atmosphere,” Zatanna huffed. But then her gaze slid back to Bruce’s shoulders, hunched just ever so slightly more than usual, and her face softened. “Look, if it’s just a thing for you Founders to have a good time together, fine, I’ll butt out. But I have played as a Storymaster before, and I don’t mind jumping in to let the seven of you keep up your team dynamic.”

Clark blinked. “You’ve played Wolfen and Warlocks?”

“Oh, ages ago. My little cousin asked for help when his high school group was threatening to break apart,” she said, idly waving a dismissive hand. “At first I only figured it could be a good exercise for my illusion casting, and then I got invested.”

Now that sounded promising. A quick check revealed Bruce had tilted his head slightly, his interest caught as well. So, Clark told the magician, “I don’t think I’d have a problem letting you join us.”

The tension eased out of Bruce’s shoulders, just a fraction. Zatanna clearly saw it too, if the small, delighted grin she aimed at the both of them was any indication.

Chapter Text

CLARK
-Kelal, Meckle Orc, Size Category: Large, +3 fortitude (Racial Bonus)
-Level One, Health Pool 26
Statistics:
Fortitude: 11, +3 +3 = 17 (plus six Health Points added to total pool)
Attunement: 9 (plus one on all magical output)
Charm: 9
Strength: 8 (plus one physical damage dealt)
Intuition: 3
Agility: 2
Abilities:
Share Wound (Sacrificial)
-caster takes 1d6 damage, but restores three times that amount of health points to a wounded target (such as a party member or the caster themself)
Hover (Arcane)
-1d4 hit-or-miss to levitate a target three feet off the ground; with each consecutive action put into this spell, the target lifts an additional three feet higher, but as soon as the caster does something else, it ends
Shield of Stone (Sorcery)
-cast a barrier with 1d8 HP over a selected target
Lucky Pebble (Sorcery)
-give a selected piece of rock a +5 stat bonus so long as it's held in one hand, then roll 1d6 to determine the stat (1=Strength, 2=Agility, 3=Fortitude, 4=Attunement, 5=Intuition, 6=Charm). Cannot be cast on the same piece of rock more than once
Inventory:
-Woven Fiber Chestplate - cost 5cp, +3 Fortitude
-Rough Carved Club - 3cp, medium impact, +3 damage
-Traveler's Pie (x2) - costs 5cp, restores 8hp
-32 copper pieces

DIANA
-Pasiphae, Minotaur, Large
-Level One, Health Pool 22
Stats:
Strength: 12 +3 = 15 (plus three physical dmg dealt)
Fortitude: 9 (plus two HP)
Charm: 7
Agility: 7
Intuition: 7
Attunement: 4
Abilities:
Hoof Stomp (Racial Bonus)
-1d4 h-or-m to knock an adj opponent over and deal 3 dmg
Gut Punch (Hand to Hand)
-character deals 1d6 damage to an adjacent target, plus two points per every five in their Strength stat
Powerhouse (HtH)
-1d4 hit-or-miss to deal half one's Strength stat as damage to an adjacent target
Battle Cry (Conviction)
-add 1d6 damage to your next attack of any type
Adrenaline Rush (Centering)
-character adds 1d6 to their Strength stat for the following two turns
Divine Call: Minoth the Steadfast
Inventory:
-Weightlifter's Ring - costs 15cp, worn on a finger, provides +3 Strength
-Roll of Salted Fish - costs 4cp, contains 3 fish that restore 4hp apiece
-31 copper pieces

BRUCE
-Thomarwyn, Fairy, Tiny
-Level One, Health Pool 22
Stats:
Intuition: 12 (plus one on rolls for initiative)
Attunement: 11 (plus two magical output)
Charm: 10 (plus one on rolls for interaction)
Agility: 8
Fortitude: 7 (plus two HP)
Strength: 5 (plus one physical dmg dealt)
Abilities:
Airborne (Racial Bonus)
-able to Move 10 squares as a single action rather than the usual 5
Pick Pocket (Trick
-character adds 1d8 plus half their Agility stat, then tests the combined value against their target's Intuition; if higher, they successfully steal the contents of the bag/pocket, but if equal or lower, they're caught mid-action and will need to react accordingly
Discretion (Trick)
-avoid detection by any opponents for 1d6 turns
Discernment (Centering)
-character adds 1d6 to their Charm stat for the following two turns
Incoming (Awareness)
-character adds three points to all their rolls for initiative
Divine Call: Fenlaif the Watchful
Inventory:
-Set of Throwing Knives (10) - costs 12cp, small edged ammo, +3 damage
-Sack of Apples - costs 3cp, contains 6 apples that restore 3hp apiece
-35 copper pieces

SHAYERA
-Jayne, Harpy, Middling-Tall
-Level One, Health Pool 24
Stats:
Strength: 11 (plus two for physical dmg dealt)
Fortitude: 10 (plus four HP)
Agility: 8
Intuition: 7
Attunement: 6 (plus one magical output)
Charm: 4
Abilities:
Sudden Shriek (Racial Bonus)
-1d4 h-or-m to scare a nearby opponent into skipping their next turn
Sweeping Blow (Close Combat)
-character deals 1d6 plus their weapon's bonus damage to an opponent within the weaponry's reach (rough club - adjacent square)
Headstrike (CC)
-1d4 hit-or-miss to deal double weapons damage
Disarm (CC)
-1d8 plus half Agility versus an opponent's Strength to catch, twist, and yank their own weapon away (requires an armed target)
Guard Position (CC)
-1d4 hit-or-miss to catch an opponent's next physical blow, avoiding taking any damage from it but dealing half back instead
Divine Calls: Avione of the Sky, and Natiri the Forthright
Inventory:
-Thick Walking Staff - 5cp, large impact, + 4 damage
-Small Bread Loaf (x3) - costs 2cp, restores 5 health points when eaten
-39 copper pieces

JOHN
-Hevrin, Human, Middling, +3 intuition (Racial Bonus)
-Level One, Health Pool 26
Stats:
Fortitude: 10, +6 = 16 (plus six HP)
Agility: 9
Attunement: 9, +3 = 12 (plus two magical output)
Strength: 7 (plus one physical dmg dealt)
Charm: 6
Intuition: 3, +3 = 6
Abilities:
Break of Dawn (Light)
-character takes 1d6 damage to brighten the surrounding area a corresponding amount (1/2 = a dim glow, 3/4 = a brighter light, 5/6 = a brilliant blaze no shadow could hide)
Dancing Wisp (L)
-1d4 hit-or-miss to conjure a small glowing orb; if successful, it can be sent to fly around space within view of the caster
Gleaming Prism (L)
-take 1d6 damage to cast a restrictive prison around a target, preventing any actions for the same number of turns
Solari’s Aid (L)
-roll 1d10 for the amount of health points lost and given to a summoned light elemental, which can be directed to attack enemies or carry out other small tasks, and will remain present until killed or dismissed by the summoner
Divine Call: Lord Absul of the Golden Immosi
Inventory:
-Chainmail Shirt - costs 10cp, requires at least 5 Strength to wear, +5 Fortitude
-Mageweave Cloak - costs 10cp, provides +3 Attunement and +1 Fortitude
-Pouch of Nuts - costs 6cp, contains 5 handfuls that restore 4hp apiece
-24 copper pieces

J’ONN
-Amrit, Anonian (Forest), Tiny
-Level One, Health Pool 22
Stats:
Attunement: 11, +3 = 14 (plus two points for magical output)
Intuition: 9
Strength: 8 (plus one point for physical dmg dealt)
Fortitude: 8, +1 = 9 (plus two HP)
Agility: 7
Charm: 5
Abilities:
Paralytic Touch (Racial Bonus)
-reduce an adjacent opponent's rolls by 1d6 for the same number of turns
Sustenance (Growth)
-summon 1d6 edible fruits that restore 3HP apiece when eaten
Brink of Death (Soul)
-can only be cast on a character with fewer than 10 health points remaining, preventing them from losing any further HP for 1d6 turns
Request Audience (Soul)
-roll 1d8 to summon a ghost from beyond the grave to ask for information, with the value determining relevance (1 /2 = the summoned spirit only knows gossip and rumors related to the required topic, 3/4 = they knew someone else involved, 5/6 = a spirit with a firsthand account, 7/8 = the exact perfect person to speak with)
Reflective Protection (Soul)
-1d6 plus half the caster's Attunement stat becomes the value of a health pool for a shield around the target, which can only be harmed by physical damage, turning incoming spells back at their own casters
Divine Calls: Nentanuk Magicborn, and Oban the Tender
Inventory:
-Homemade Slingshot - costs 2cp, deals +1 damage if used to hit a target, but breaks after doing so
-Pouch of Stone Pellets (30) - cost 4cp, small impact ammo, +2 damage
-Unadorned Short Sword - 7cp, medium edged, +4 damage
-Mageweave Cloak - costs 10cp, provides +3 Attunement and +1 Fortitude
-Bundle of Dried Jerky - costs 6cp, contains 5 strips that restore 4hp apiece
-21 copper pieces

WALLY
-Byrt, Goblin, Small, +3 agility (Racial Bonus)
-Level One, Health Pool 22
Stats:
Agility: 12, +3 +3 = 18 (six steps per Movement action)
Intuition: 10 (plus one point on rolls for initiative)
Charm: 9, +3 = 12 (plus one on rolls for interaction)
Fortitude: 7, +1 = 8 (plus two HP)
Strength: 6 (plus one point physical dmg dealt)
Attunement: 4
Abilities:
Heckle (Conviction)
-draw an opponent's attention to the exclusion of all else for 1d6 turns, deducting three points from all their rolls for the same amount of time
Terrain (Awareness)
-character adds 1d6 to their Agility stat for the following two turns
Sidestep (Trick)
-dodge all incoming physical attacks for 1d6 turns
Backdoor (Astral)
-1d4 hit-or-miss to open a portal between the caster and a location they can see, which can be reached or walked through, and lasts one full turn.
Inventory:
-Sprinters Boots/Wraps - cost 7cp, +3 Agility and +1 Fortitude
-Simple Hatchet - costs 5cp, small edged weapon, deals +3 physical damage
-Complimentary Ring - costs 15cp, worn on a finger, provides +3 Charm
-Traveler's Pie (x4) - costs 5cp, restores 8hp
-Sack of Apples - costs 3cp, contains 6 apples that restore 3hp apiece
(No copper pieces remaining)

Chapter Text

Three weeks after their first game session, the second starts with... a bit more fanfare.

“There is something in the forest,” Zatanna intones, voice pitched low and ominous. “Something that began with stealing game out of snares, then from larger traps, and now, is making off with hunters themselves.” Hands raised for dramatic effect, her papers and dice hidden by a layer of fog that swirled around her spot at the table, the magician really gets into her Storymaster act. No way Wally would ever say so to the big guy’s face, but he honestly kind of prefers the spooky aspect to Clark’s straightforward ‘okay, so this is where we are, here’s what we need to do’ introduction.

Zatanna continues, “The local villagers have decided to pool their coin, and hire help to enter the woods and investigate. Your task is to either deal with the problem directly, or bring back enough information for the people to at least know what is lurking beneath the leaves. Provided, of course,” she adds with extra menace, “that you survive.”

Yeah. Definitely an improvement.

With their group assembled at the spot where a path breaks off from the main road to head up into the woods, Zatanna presents a local to speak with them, provide some extra info. “I ask him for any further details not on the hiring ad,” Bruce says without missing a beat, because of course.

He also manages to roll an eighteen with the 1d20 die, plus one from his Charm stat being so high, and Zatanna’s creepy voice makes a return, pitched a little lower than before. “You shouldn’t go too near the center of the forest, whatever else you do. There’s an old house there, and someone the hunters try not to bother. We already know that’s not the problem.”

“Uh,” Wally cuts in, “How?”

Zatanna smirks at him over her curtain of fog. “Because. If our hunters did something to irritate the hermit, we’d have found their bodies by the roadside.”

“But wouldn’t this hermit know more about what’s happening inside the forest?” Diana asks. "Why not seek their knowledge?"

“Whether the hermit knows or not, we don’t risk going near enough to ask.”

Shayera rolls her eyes. “Well that’s just stupid.”

“The local villagers likely have no great warriors or spellcasters among them,” J’onn points out to her. “If this hermit has killed intruders in their domain before, it would be entirely reasonable for the entire community to keep their distance.”

“Not like we’re going to, right?” Wally glances around the table. “I mean, it wouldn’t get mentioned unless this hermit dude is important.”

There’s a murmur of agreement from the others, and then Bruce tries to press for some more details, before Clark finally manages to get them moving for the trees. They’ve got an actual map for this campaign, instead of his whiteboard, and with Zatanna’s magic the whole thing comes to life - the blobby trees start to ripple like there’s a breeze blowing through them, and the creek that serves as a boundary on one side actually flows on its winding way. There are bits of fog hovering over different spots, each marked with a number, where they know different Encounters will take place; but until their characters get to those spots, Wally and his friends won’t be able to see what’s on the ground.

And speaking of their characters-

The same tokens from their first game are still in use, but Zatanna put a little magic into each one. Miniature magic-hologram figures actually walk or run when the tokens are pushed around, and every time somebody says I’m doing this action or I’m casting this spell, there’s a corresponding gesture. Very, very cool. Wings and tails all do their own thing, and each of the characters has an extra movement or two that helps bring them to life. Wally extra loves when his little goblin dude bounces in place at random times, like Byrt’s bored and just shaking loose a bit.

The fog over their first encounter spot clears away when they reach it, revealing a decent sized clearing. Zatanna flutters her fingers to make the map zoom in. “After emerging from the underbrush, you discover a glen full of grass and flowers, much of the soil still damp from a thunderstorm the night before. And in the center, you also see a great deal of churned up earth, large gashes cutting through the ground and mud thrown in several directions. Now, we can have everyone roll an insight check, or-”

“Bruce,” six voices ring out in unison. The man himself just smirks. But he does roll high again, and Zatanna relays the appropriate information.

“Careful inspection leads you to find prints in the mud, hooves of two different sizes. You can't quite tell what precisely they go to, but clearly the creatures were not pleased with one another, and the terrain suffered as a result. Now-” Her voice takes on a distinctly gleeful note, “This time, everyone will roll, but for initiative.”

“And here it comes,” John rumbles. And then he groans, the number 2 facing up on his twenty-sided die. Shayera does a little better with a 6, and J’onn with 9. Bruce and Diana get 11 and 12, Clark manages a 15, and Wally whoops when his die comes up 19.

“With an ear-piercing squeal, a truly monstrous-sized boar erupts from the trees on the far side of the clearing,” Zatanna announces. She slides a new token onto the map, and with it comes a huge black pig figure that looks like it could swallow Wally’s goblin in one bite. Like, that would be the kind of beast that made it onto ye old shields and crests and whatnot. “Byrt, you’re the first to get past your surprise and react - what’s your play?”

“Uhhh-” He quickly looks over the map again. “Okay, I’m gonna take six steps over to this side, and then cast Heckle so it runs towards me instead of the others.”

John makes a noise like he’s not entirely happy about that, but oh well, if the boar charged the group then his Hevrin would be the one getting trampled. So Wally rolls his d6, and gets a 3.

“Three point deductions for three rounds,” Zatanna announces. A counter appears in the air over the boar, keeping track of the effect. “Kelal, you’re next.”

“I’ll move closer to Byrt,” Clark scooches his orc’s token five spaces, one at a time like he’s counting them in his head, “And cast Shield of Stone over him.”

Well that’s touching. And also funny, when the big guy only rolls a 1. “Thanks,” Wally can’t help but snicker.

Diana casts Adrenaline Rush to boost her Strength stat by 4 for the next couple of rounds, and then Battle Cry to add six whopping points of damage to whatever attack she makes next. Bruce straight up launches two of his throwing knives at the boar, dealing three damage each and causing Zatanna to reveal the beast started out with forty-five health points, yeesh.

“It’s because you’re such a large party,” she reminds them. “If this was a single player campaign, it would only have fifteen.”

When the boar's turn comes around, it of course charges straight towards Byrt, and covers ground way faster than Wally would have expected. His poor little dude gets run over, losing four health points in the process, and that’s with the point reduction from Heckle and the Shield of Stone protection Clark gave him. Thankfully J’onn rolls a little better when he goes next. “I will give Byrt the benefit of my Reflective Protection.” A little shimmering bubble pops into place, with the silvery +10HP hovering over it.

For her part, Shayera takes the direct approach. “I know I can’t get close enough to hit this thing in one turn, but I’m still going to run towards it and cast Sudden Shriek.” She rolls the little four-sided pyramid die, but curses when it lands on a 1.

“That’s a miss, then,” Zatanna says. “Hevrin, you’re up.”

“Gleaming Prism,” John says firmly, and dang if he doesn’t get the max six points. Plus his Attunement bonus, that means the boar is caught and bound by light made physical, and Wally doesn’t need to worry about getting run over anymore.

Their Storymaster announces, “The furious beast continues to thrash and scream, but even so, you are now all able to see the wounds already present along its sides and neck. At this point, you can continue to press the attack and kill it, or look closer.”

For a moment, John hesitates. But then he sighs, and mutters, “I’ll look closer.” Intuition is his lowest stat, so Hevrin doesn’t get any bonus, but the man still rolls a respectable 13 - and it turns out the boar’s got one particularly deep wound with a piece of whatever inflicted it still lodged inside.

“Yeah, that would tick me off too,” Wally comments. Their turn order breaks down a little with the fight sort of finished; Shayera’s Jayne yanks out the embedded object, Clark has Kelal take a little damage in order to restore the boar’s health, and Byrt goes ahead and eats one of his snacks to get his own hp back. John reluctantly takes down the Prism barrier, with Diana holding Pasiphae on standby to smack the boar hard if it tries to attack again - but nope, Zatanna sends it running back off for the treeline without any further trouble. Bruce, in the meantime, looks over the offending object they got from the critter.

It turns out to be a multi-pronged antler, jaggedly snapped off at one end, and even when they pour some water on the thing to clean off the boar’s blood, there’s still an icky dark ooze that clings to the bone. Or rather- “Emerges from the bone,” Zatanna reveals. “Whatever this is, it’s no natural thing.”

And that sounds like a clue right there.

Chapter Text

“Light dims as the trees close in around your path,” Zatanna hums, hands weaving gracefully back and forth as she alters the map and literally darkens the terrain around their characters. Diana watches with a small smile, glad the other woman seems to be enjoying herself with the theatrics. “The air feels thicker, more cloying, and there comes the faint but increasing scent of rot nearby.”

“Lovely,” Shayera drawls, leaning back in her seat. “This is the part in a movie where the zombies start showing up, right?”

John snorts next to her, and Clark chuckles. “I don’t think they have zombies in the world of Sarant.”

“Don’t be so sure,” Bruce says with a grunt.

Zatanna simply smiles. “Little by little, birdsong and other animal noises die away, leaving an eerie silence in their place. Reaching a bend in the path, your party pauses, a chill creeping up each of your spines. Now... roll for initiative.”

“If we get eaten by zombie deer or something at level one...” Wally mutters in a hushed tone, casting his die across the table. “Ugh. Seven. Wait- no, I’ve got an intuition bonus- eight!”

Diana herself manages a 14. Bruce gets the highest with 17; Shayera lands a 12, J’onn a 10. Clark also gets an 8, and John... “I’m starting to think my dee-twenty might be rigged,” the man huffs, his die presenting a 3 almost mockingly.

Their Storymaster waits with a sly grin, and then reveals her newest challenge. “In the quiet, you hear the sharp, precise snap of a single branch breaking. Up ahead, the shadows stir, and a creature steps onto the trail. At first glance, it looks like a stag - tall, imposing... but missing a piece off its antlers.”

J’onn makes a hum. They’d given his Amrit the broken antler to store, wrapped in spare cloth and carefully nestled inside a large belt pouch.

“There are other pieces missing from the stag as well: strips of fur, bits of skin, one of its eyes. There's a faint but undeniable glow coming from inside the creature, and strands of ichor drip from its nose and mouth, a black substance with streaks of poisonous green.”

“Zombie deer,” Wally says loudly. “Called it.”

“I called it,” Shayera scoffs, flaring one of her wings to lightly smack the back of Wally’s head. Bruce ignores both of them, already checking two knives off his inventory to throw at the stag. Six points of damage land; Zatanna announces the creature is brought down to twenty four health remaining.

“My Battle Cry is still in effect, is it not?” Diana asks.

“It is indeed.”

So Diana sends forth her minotaur, the stag helpfully standing close enough for her to reach with a single action, and she strikes with the Gut Punch attack. It lands a substantial thirteen points of damage, prompting whistles and scattered applause from around the table. Not to be left behind, Shayera likewise sends forth her harpy, landing a Sweeping Blow with her staff that costs the stag a further nine health.

“Very well done,” Zatanna tells them, her beast down to a mere 2hp. “But now our second guest joins the battle. Another unnatural creature emerges silently from the trees, directly next to where the rest of your friends still stand - this deer much resembles the first, though it lacks any antlers at all, and is held together with less rotting skin than half-solid ichor.”

The first stag lashes out at Pasiphae, biting down on her arm to deal three damage and inflict a poison effect; an additional two health points lost each turn she remains below full health. Its companion similarly attacks Amrit, wounding the anonian’s shoulder.

J’onn does not allow that to go unanswered. “I draw my short sword, and strike while it is close.”

So far in their gameplay, the martian has mainly held his character to magic and long-range attacks with her slingshot; the sword lands true, however, and Zatanna deducts four points from the deer’s health pool. Then comes Clark’s turn, and he promptly directs his orc to also strike, roughly carved club claiming a further six points of weapon’s damage. Wally goes next, and with a shrug lends his goblin’s simple hatchet to the melee. John’s character has no weapon with which to attack, so he instead summons an elemental minion, a small creature formed entirely of gleaming light that flies straight at the enemy and begins to attack.

They circle back around to Bruce at that point, who throws one blade to finish off the original creature and another at the second. Further away from the remaining fight and still taking damage from the poisoned bite, Diana chooses instead to use a basic ability, and apply First Aid to herself. It’s not quite enough to restore her to full health, though, and she loses another pair of points with the start of Shayera’s turn.

The two of them share a brief glance across the table, before the Thanagarian rolls her eyes. “Alright, I’ll give Pasiphae some Aid too.”

Diana smiles.

It doesn’t take much more for the boys to whittle down the second ‘zombie’. Once they’re finished, Zatanna describes how both creatures lose their inner light, collapsing into themselves to become sad little piles of bone and sludge. No clues to be found, despite Bruce trying to roll another insight check - the most their Storymaster provides is the information that these monsters did not come to exist solely in their own right.

“Necromancer, anyone?” Wally asks in a teasing tone.

Bruce hums. “Warlock, more likely. The game is called ‘Wolfen and Warlocks’, after all.”

“I mean, those are both spooky and probably come decked out in fancy black clothes, right? Uh, no offense, Bats.”

“Hn.”

“If I may,” J’onn quietly interjects, “There seems to be a development in the deployment center; several minds are trying hard not to think my name too loudly. May we continue this campaign at the next session?”

Zatanna is already dismissing her animation spells and bundling up her score sheets. “Absolutely- is it an emergency, or...?”

“Nothing so dramatic, but I would rather go up now rather than wait half an hour for things to take an unfortunate turn.” With that, they all assist in packing up, tucking away books and papers, Wally doing a quick circuit of the table to dispose of discarded trash. Diana holds open the small antique chest they’re using for storage, closing it as soon as all the game paraphernalia are safely laid inside.

As the others hurry out of the room to go see what’s happening, she sets the chest aside and pauses. “Bruce?”

His cowl is still down, but the man scowls at their newly cleared table as if it were a cowardly and suspicious criminal. “Hm.”

“You aren’t that annoyed at what Wally said, are you?”

After a moment he blinks, gaze lifting, the grim expression easing. “Hm? No. Not him.” Diana raises an eyebrow. “...I’m. Thinking.”

“About?”

After an even longer moment, the man answers with clear reluctance, “The hermit we were told of is almost certainly a diversion, unless something’s happened to recently cause them to take up Corrupt powers and create Altered Beasts out of carcasses like this-”

Diana desperately tries to resist grinning, and fails. “We’re only two fights in, and you’re already attempting to solve this mystery like it’s one of your cases?” Bruce rather tellingly doesn’t answer, so with a huff she goes and hauls him out of his chair. “Pull your cowl on, and we’ll go over the clues on our way to the hub.”