An encounter with a Kobold

<– Previous Post | Next Post –>

Raulwicke shrieked at the tiny, reptilian creature that burst from the bushes. He leveled his wooden sword (well, more of a stick) on the creature and denounced it, “Back evil thing! I am Raulwicke Legendsinger, of the Fel-Woods Clan! You do not belong here! Begone!”

The creature blinked at Raulwicke, evidently unaware that the gnome was threatening its life. With a howl on frustration, Raulwicke swung his stick at the Kobold. It did not move as the twig swung wide over its head, throwing Raulwicke off balance and causing him to fall. The creature scampered off and Raulwicke shouted curses behind it. “You had best begone creature! The son of Thirgdrum is more than a match for you!”

With a groan, Raulwicke picked himself up from the ground. He winced as a pinch in his side made him falter. He lifted his tunic to reveal the beginnings of a very large bruise. Grimacing and fighting back tears, both from the pain and the embarrassment of the failure of his first adventure, Raulwicke began to make his way back home.

Greetings and Well met, fellow adventurers!

It’s been three days since I started the workout portion of NerdFitness, and today is my second day that I will be going to the Gym. Sunday evening (shortly after updating this blog) I grabbed a friend and made my trek up to the Athletic Center of my college and was strenuous for about an hour :chortle:.

In all honesty, I thought I was going to die. The warm up almost did me in all by itself, and much like Raulwicke fighting that first Kobold, I think my opponent definitely won the encounter. But also like Raul, I gained some experience. I’ve been sore for a few days, but I’ve also been looking forward to going back to the gym and getting better.

Something that will become apparent over the next couple weeks, but I want to be explicit about now is where Raulwicke stands in relation to the world at large. In Dungeons and Dragons terms, Raulwicke is a level 0 fighter, CR 1/8. A Kobold usually has a combat rating of 1/8 as well. [From pure experience points perspective, Raul should have been eviscerated by the Kobold, who should have looked at him as lunch more than a threat. But that wouldn’t make a very good story.] What I mean to say is that Raulwicke (and I) and no more powerful than a forest creature and our equiptment reflects that. Raul uses his “sword”, also known as the twig, to fight a creature with claws, horns, and razor sharp teeth. I am doing bodyweight exercises in a gym outfit that I threw together using clothes I would usually sleep in. But as we level up (and as Raulwicke goes from CR 1/8 to CR 1) we will both get more experience, better gear, and be able to take on bigger and better foes.

Update on the Quests:

• Acrobatics
  • I’ve been working at the Gym on improving my strength. I’ve decided that I will not start working on Acrobatics and Parkour till I am at Level 3 (and Raulwicke is at CR 1/2) of the NF Workout regimen. (I am currently level 1)
• History and Storytelling
  • I have not worked on the Frustengrad world or Raulwicke’s story in the last few days. I am adding to Raulwicke’s story little by little through these blog posts and my posts on NFA forums. Granted these are two different story lines, as here I am recounting Raulwicke’s first adventure and how he truly became the Legendsinger, and on NFA I am telling the story about how he is an older gnome who has already been on most of his adventures, but it recruited by a Rebellion and is getting back in shape to come out of retirement.
• Musical ability
  • I am taking a twice weekly Piano class and I am making progress!
• Sleight of Hand/ Parlor Tricks
  • Have no even looked into this skill yet. Note to self: Get a pack of playing cards.