Bullete Karma [Archive] - Wizards Community

Bullete Karma [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
ImmortalBlueMage
07-15-04, 01:58 AM The Half-Orc in my group has what he describes as "an irrational fear of horses". As such, when it comes to overland travel, the group has two options. 1) Hoof it, or 2) Find some other means of transportation.

In the case of their most recent journey, they were gifted by a Wizard friend with what he referred to as "riding lizards", Huge quadrapedal reptiles which were docile and sturdy, but not the fastest things around. They were given explicit instructions, however, to keep them well-fed. "Fresh meat every day, or else they can become erratic and VERY dangerous". Unbeknownst to the players, these "riding lizards" are actually domesticated Bullettes (yes, I'm cruel, but that's a topic for another time). The magical "gentling" process makes them tame, but also a bit befuddled (they lose their Burrow speed, and only move about half speed overland), but without a high-protien diet, they revert back to their old ravenous selves.

So, the players were good about keeping them fed for the duration of the journey. Once they got to where they were going, however, they simply left their mounts "tied to a tree" on a hill overlooking a small village. When I reminded them they'd be gone for a while, they said they knew. When I reminded them that the lizards are prone to violence if not properly fed, they didn't seem to care. The wellfare of the villagers didn't not seem to be weighing much on their minds. Even the Monk, who's the hero of the group, didn't stop to think about the amount of damage that could be done.

Suffice to say, it's been a few days, enough time for the Bulletes to A) Go nuts, B) Snap their tethers, and C) Devour the entire town (by which I mean, all of the inhabitants, and most of the buildings). If the PCs get back in time (and the DM Gods are telling me they WILL...), they'll have to fight the beasts off, and they'll definitely earn the ire of their Wizardly benefactor. Nevertheless, their extreme negligience in this instance tells me that karma is likely going to come back and bite them on the backside in at least one other way.

So, I'm open to suggestions?
SnowbearK
07-15-04, 02:27 AM meh...that's easy.

They return to find an empty village, their mounts "stolen," and a very irate Lord of the land wondering just what in the sam hell happened to his wife's second cousin's village.

Their mounts however, have left the scene of the crime in search of new prey.

Every now and then, when they ride into a new town desperate for healing they find the town decimated.

Worse, they go back to a previous village/town/whatever looking for someone, only to find they've been eaten. Works very well if your players have people who owe them money/services/items and whatnot. Even better if it's family members, former friends, or lovers.
ImmortalBlueMage
07-15-04, 02:47 AM As funny as that scene plays out in my mind, doesn't work. The lord of the land is who they're here to kill, seeing as he's an insane Vampire. As far as the village-by-village rampage, seems a little convenient that these same three Bullettes would show up every place the PCs do. Not that I'm above convenient plot devices of course...
ben the blue
07-15-04, 06:49 AM i could see it working.
Have the taming process link the bullettes to the minds of the party so they subconciously are goaded towards where the party wants to go.
about the vampire lord, couldn't he kill the bullettes and then raise them as slaves or something, that should lay some negative karma on their careless selves
Wayward Son
07-15-04, 09:13 AM Originally posted by ImmortalBlueMage
As funny as that scene plays out in my mind, doesn't work. The lord of the land is who they're here to kill, seeing as he's an insane Vampire. As far as the village-by-village rampage, seems a little convenient that these same three Bullettes would show up every place the PCs do. Not that I'm above convenient plot devices of course...

Worse, they split up. :D

If I recall, Bullettes are very territorial in the wild and will hunt and kill any other predator in their chosen area. So, the three have split up, moving in different directions. Now the party has to choose which community to save. Perhaps relatives are in one, but an important NPC is in another, and a third could have some useful items/information/services to give a "hero" who saves their village. If the PCs don't seem interested in correcting their lethal mistake, make a note in their change of attitude, and have a higher authority of some stripe "suggest" they hunt down the beasts. (Could be anything from the wizard who gave them the beasts, to the deity of one or more of the PCs (especially fun for good or good-leaning-neutral clerics).)
Bedevere
07-15-04, 02:57 PM No problems. Just locate someone who owns a jerkin of invulnerability to land-sharks.

Yes, a Bulette-proof vest would be of great use to them. :D :D :D

Nah, I'd say that once the taming wears off, there are going to be three of them facing each other. As already stated, they will fight any opponent who enters their territory, hence two will die, and the third will probably be badly injured. This still leaves him well enough to decimate a town or two before the party track it down and kill it.
Theocracity
07-15-04, 03:14 PM I think this is a great idea, and not only because I love Land Sharks :D.

I say let the Bulettes keep destroying towns that the PCs end up in. Who cares if the plausibility is a bit suspect?

Of course, perhaps in the process of becoming docile, one of the Bullettes got exposed to some magical runoff...his brain has been growing, and once he breaks free and feasts on a nearby village to feed his appetite, he'll start his own evil plots...even better if you include the other Bullettes too. The PCs track down those two, but keep hearing of the third. They'll totally underestimate the third, thinking it's just more of the same, and not expect the traps that it's set up (and the escape routes it's planned).

It's the perfect BBEG!
Wayward Son
07-16-04, 08:57 AM P.S.-- Need I even suggest that this occur near a large halfling community. If I recall, landsharks really love the taste of fresh halfling. :D
MrkGrismer
07-16-04, 09:27 AM Don't forget:

Abundant food supply + mated pair = population explosion!
Kenohki
07-16-04, 09:54 AM Rope has a burst DC of 23. A Bullette has a Strength bonus of +8. It doesn't take too many tries for it to break loose. (Of course, all but a light horse could snap a rope taking 20)

One option is to have the Bullettes come bounding after the party. They snapped their bonds and went to find their food source. At this point they could be slightly irritable.

Another is to have a villager catch up with them and complain that a giant lizard ate all the cows on their farm. A party returning could find an empty pasture and three Bullettes eyeing the villagers hungarily.

Or the villagers could figure out the Bullettes and when the PCs return they present they with a huge bill for the feeding of their mounts.

Some of the vampires servants could kill the Bullettes and they return to attack the party at a crucial moment. Or they could capture the beasts and turn them against their former owners. Smart PCs could handle the Bullettes by producing some food. "DM: Three familiar giant lizards stare at you with ravenous hunger. Their mouths hang slightly open in what appears to be anticipation of their next meal." "PC: I cast Heroes Feast." "DM: The three lizards are momentarily startled but quickly fall upon the presented food devouring it all. Then they promptly curl up and begin to nap. Somewhere a vampire lord curses."
Carkni
07-16-04, 01:27 PM MrkGrismer's suggestion sounds the most karmatic, and I would have a lot of fun with that. Essentially create a Bullette invested area, and while you would have to change your wilderness random encounter charts, it would be amusing to have the PCs constantly face Bulletes.

Or perhaps you could make a Termors-esque mini-campaign in which the PCs have to alert the citizens, keep them safe, and fight the Bulletes. It could be lots of fun to have PCs running around fighting Bulletes, and occasionally have to save random villagers that are in danger. Have a few eaten as well, to hurt their precious morals and/or ethics.

Or do both! :D
Not a monkey
07-16-04, 04:03 PM Originally posted by Theocracity
Of course, perhaps in the process of becoming docile, one of the Bullettes got exposed to some magical runoff...his brain has been growing, and once he breaks free and feasts on a nearby village to feed his appetite, he'll start his own evil plots...even better if you include the other Bullettes too. The PCs track down those two, but keep hearing of the third. They'll totally underestimate the third, thinking it's just more of the same, and not expect the traps that it's set up (and the escape routes it's planned).

Not nearly evil enough.

The magic tamed the bulettes enough to accept riders, right? So they learned a sense of cooperation. Well, even when the magic wears off, that sense remains. The bulettes are just as territorial, but now have a pack mentality, not unlike wolves or baboons. They begin to develop pack tactics. They're also in a new area. Possibly the local bulettes will challenge them, and fight not to the death, but to submission, eventually, to an "alpha". Soon you've got an organized, tactical pack of bulettes.

Wilderness encounters just got a hell of a lot more interesting. If the PCs stay in the area long enough, or especially if they leave and come back later, take it a step further. The pack mentality breeds true. Of course packs can only get so big before the local food supply won't cut it. What happens then is part of the pack splits off with a new alpha and takes over an adjoining territory. It'll take a while, but reptiles do have a shorter breeding cycle than mammals generally.
ImmortalBlueMage
07-16-04, 06:14 PM Wow, with all of this going on, my players might not ever fight any other kind of monster at all. Not that I have an issue with that. They brought it on themselves after all...

BTW, I'm going with the population explosion. What's worse, fighting three Bullettes in a ruined town, or fighting one and then finding a dozen small tunnels in the dirt?

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
ImmortalBlueMage 07-15-04, 01:58 AM	The Half-Orc in my group has what he describes as "an irrational fear of horses". As such, when it comes to overland travel, the group has two options. 1) Hoof it, or 2) Find some other means of transportation. In the case of their most recent journey, they were gifted by a Wizard friend with what he referred to as "riding lizards", Huge quadrapedal reptiles which were docile and sturdy, but not the fastest things around. They were given explicit instructions, however, to keep them well-fed. "Fresh meat every day, or else they can become erratic and VERY dangerous". Unbeknownst to the players, these "riding lizards" are actually domesticated Bullettes (yes, I'm cruel, but that's a topic for another time). The magical "gentling" process makes them tame, but also a bit befuddled (they lose their Burrow speed, and only move about half speed overland), but without a high-protien diet, they revert back to their old ravenous selves. So, the players were good about keeping them fed for the duration of the journey. Once they got to where they were going, however, they simply left their mounts "tied to a tree" on a hill overlooking a small village. When I reminded them they'd be gone for a while, they said they knew. When I reminded them that the lizards are prone to violence if not properly fed, they didn't seem to care. The wellfare of the villagers didn't not seem to be weighing much on their minds. Even the Monk, who's the hero of the group, didn't stop to think about the amount of damage that could be done. Suffice to say, it's been a few days, enough time for the Bulletes to A) Go nuts, B) Snap their tethers, and C) Devour the entire town (by which I mean, all of the inhabitants, and most of the buildings). If the PCs get back in time (and the DM Gods are telling me they WILL...), they'll have to fight the beasts off, and they'll definitely earn the ire of their Wizardly benefactor. Nevertheless, their extreme negligience in this instance tells me that karma is likely going to come back and bite them on the backside in at least one other way. So, I'm open to suggestions?
SnowbearK 07-15-04, 02:27 AM	meh...that's easy. They return to find an empty village, their mounts "stolen," and a very irate Lord of the land wondering just what in the sam hell happened to his wife's second cousin's village. Their mounts however, have left the scene of the crime in search of new prey. Every now and then, when they ride into a new town desperate for healing they find the town decimated. Worse, they go back to a previous village/town/whatever looking for someone, only to find they've been eaten. Works very well if your players have people who owe them money/services/items and whatnot. Even better if it's family members, former friends, or lovers.
ImmortalBlueMage 07-15-04, 02:47 AM	As funny as that scene plays out in my mind, doesn't work. The lord of the land is who they're here to kill, seeing as he's an insane Vampire. As far as the village-by-village rampage, seems a little convenient that these same three Bullettes would show up every place the PCs do. Not that I'm above convenient plot devices of course...
ben the blue 07-15-04, 06:49 AM	i could see it working. Have the taming process link the bullettes to the minds of the party so they subconciously are goaded towards where the party wants to go. about the vampire lord, couldn't he kill the bullettes and then raise them as slaves or something, that should lay some negative karma on their careless selves
Wayward Son 07-15-04, 09:13 AM	Originally posted by ImmortalBlueMage As funny as that scene plays out in my mind, doesn't work. The lord of the land is who they're here to kill, seeing as he's an insane Vampire. As far as the village-by-village rampage, seems a little convenient that these same three Bullettes would show up every place the PCs do. Not that I'm above convenient plot devices of course... Worse, they split up. :D If I recall, Bullettes are very territorial in the wild and will hunt and kill any other predator in their chosen area. So, the three have split up, moving in different directions. Now the party has to choose which community to save. Perhaps relatives are in one, but an important NPC is in another, and a third could have some useful items/information/services to give a "hero" who saves their village. If the PCs don't seem interested in correcting their lethal mistake, make a note in their change of attitude, and have a higher authority of some stripe "suggest" they hunt down the beasts. (Could be anything from the wizard who gave them the beasts, to the deity of one or more of the PCs (especially fun for good or good-leaning-neutral clerics).)
Bedevere 07-15-04, 02:57 PM	No problems. Just locate someone who owns a jerkin of invulnerability to land-sharks. Yes, a Bulette-proof vest would be of great use to them. :D :D :D Nah, I'd say that once the taming wears off, there are going to be three of them facing each other. As already stated, they will fight any opponent who enters their territory, hence two will die, and the third will probably be badly injured. This still leaves him well enough to decimate a town or two before the party track it down and kill it.
Theocracity 07-15-04, 03:14 PM	I think this is a great idea, and not only because I love Land Sharks :D. I say let the Bulettes keep destroying towns that the PCs end up in. Who cares if the plausibility is a bit suspect? Of course, perhaps in the process of becoming docile, one of the Bullettes got exposed to some magical runoff...his brain has been growing, and once he breaks free and feasts on a nearby village to feed his appetite, he'll start his own evil plots...even better if you include the other Bullettes too. The PCs track down those two, but keep hearing of the third. They'll totally underestimate the third, thinking it's just more of the same, and not expect the traps that it's set up (and the escape routes it's planned). It's the perfect BBEG!
Wayward Son 07-16-04, 08:57 AM	P.S.-- Need I even suggest that this occur near a large halfling community. If I recall, landsharks really love the taste of fresh halfling. :D
MrkGrismer 07-16-04, 09:27 AM	Don't forget: Abundant food supply + mated pair = population explosion!
Kenohki 07-16-04, 09:54 AM	Rope has a burst DC of 23. A Bullette has a Strength bonus of +8. It doesn't take too many tries for it to break loose. (Of course, all but a light horse could snap a rope taking 20) One option is to have the Bullettes come bounding after the party. They snapped their bonds and went to find their food source. At this point they could be slightly irritable. Another is to have a villager catch up with them and complain that a giant lizard ate all the cows on their farm. A party returning could find an empty pasture and three Bullettes eyeing the villagers hungarily. Or the villagers could figure out the Bullettes and when the PCs return they present they with a huge bill for the feeding of their mounts. Some of the vampires servants could kill the Bullettes and they return to attack the party at a crucial moment. Or they could capture the beasts and turn them against their former owners. Smart PCs could handle the Bullettes by producing some food. "DM: Three familiar giant lizards stare at you with ravenous hunger. Their mouths hang slightly open in what appears to be anticipation of their next meal." "PC: I cast Heroes Feast." "DM: The three lizards are momentarily startled but quickly fall upon the presented food devouring it all. Then they promptly curl up and begin to nap. Somewhere a vampire lord curses."
Carkni 07-16-04, 01:27 PM	MrkGrismer's suggestion sounds the most karmatic, and I would have a lot of fun with that. Essentially create a Bullette invested area, and while you would have to change your wilderness random encounter charts, it would be amusing to have the PCs constantly face Bulletes. Or perhaps you could make a Termors-esque mini-campaign in which the PCs have to alert the citizens, keep them safe, and fight the Bulletes. It could be lots of fun to have PCs running around fighting Bulletes, and occasionally have to save random villagers that are in danger. Have a few eaten as well, to hurt their precious morals and/or ethics. Or do both! :D
Not a monkey 07-16-04, 04:03 PM	Originally posted by Theocracity Of course, perhaps in the process of becoming docile, one of the Bullettes got exposed to some magical runoff...his brain has been growing, and once he breaks free and feasts on a nearby village to feed his appetite, he'll start his own evil plots...even better if you include the other Bullettes too. The PCs track down those two, but keep hearing of the third. They'll totally underestimate the third, thinking it's just more of the same, and not expect the traps that it's set up (and the escape routes it's planned). Not nearly evil enough. The magic tamed the bulettes enough to accept riders, right? So they learned a sense of cooperation. Well, even when the magic wears off, that sense remains. The bulettes are just as territorial, but now have a pack mentality, not unlike wolves or baboons. They begin to develop pack tactics. They're also in a new area. Possibly the local bulettes will challenge them, and fight not to the death, but to submission, eventually, to an "alpha". Soon you've got an organized, tactical pack of bulettes. Wilderness encounters just got a hell of a lot more interesting. If the PCs stay in the area long enough, or especially if they leave and come back later, take it a step further. The pack mentality breeds true. Of course packs can only get so big before the local food supply won't cut it. What happens then is part of the pack splits off with a new alpha and takes over an adjoining territory. It'll take a while, but reptiles do have a shorter breeding cycle than mammals generally.
ImmortalBlueMage 07-16-04, 06:14 PM	Wow, with all of this going on, my players might not ever fight any other kind of monster at all. Not that I have an issue with that. They brought it on themselves after all... BTW, I'm going with the population explosion. What's worse, fighting three Bullettes in a ruined town, or fighting one and then finding a dozen small tunnels in the dirt?