Michelle and I are going on vacation, more or less city hopping in Europe (Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Estonia, Finland). The game will be on hold until September 12th.
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Boztun Badlands, Klos 18th, 350AC, 7:00 (partly cloudy, 34 degrees, crescent moon)
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A new dawn arrives. The group awakes, eats, re-equips, and gathers to head back out again. Your squad of soldiers again have the chest of gifts for the badder king. No sign of the mountain bike though. Today there is a hint of blue sky and hopefully the sun will peak through once its high enough in the sky.
The soldiers (particularly the High Plains Drifters squad at the gatehouse) subject you to some “good natured teasing” as you head back out for the 3rd time. “See ya tamarra! I’ll have the heala’s keep ya bedz wahm!” Etc.
You follow the path, deja vu all over again. Then head off to the northeast, over your old footprints in the snow. Eventually (by 9:00) you get back to the scene of the iceworm encounter. Except that things have changed. Up ahead (80 meters or so) where you remember a frozen corpse being left, there is a tan-brown smudge of disturbed earth without snow covering. Some sort of post has been driven into the ground at the site, perhaps sticking up several meters.
What now? (You are again at the blue X on the map below)
Boztun Badlands, Klos 17th, 350AC, 9:12 (overcast, 37 degrees, crescent moon)
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Arvak starts lugging Zeebo back to Akton (assuming the portal to Komodo Valley is a joke/subconscious threat).
Ragnor hands over the broken metal thing to Bren, then dumps the water bottle (also picked up by Bren). He motions for the soldiers to move out. He never really states WHERE they are going. I’ll assume they are following Arvak back to Akton as opposed to heading further towards the badders of Ukrul.
Phallon gives no input. I’ll have him follow the rest of the herd like a zombie.
SUMMARY MODE: Your squad heads back to Akton. The soldiers wait outside the Champion Tower, while Arvak (and perhaps the rest of the PC’s) brings Zeebo to Healer John Trapper. The Healer proclaims Zeebo to be in “a coma”, a state of great mental trauma where the mind seems lost yet the body functions on. He explains that the body must be cared for (fed, hydrated, cleaned of wastes) and the mind may recover or NOT. He attends to Zeebo, treating his wounds.
For every 10% healed, Zeebo gets two CN saves at + 4CS, +1RF for dual brain. 0range = recovery, black = death.
John Trapper’s Medic (16): 7 5 =yellow. Zeebo gains 13 hit points (now up to 71) and will gain 13 more if rests for a full day. However, a yellow medic roll also negates a coma! No CN saves required! Zeebo becomes conscious again. His forehead tingles and feels as if his skin is stretched tight. Eventually he realizes he is wearing an ancient plastic bike helmet (and not a cool looking one: kind of bulbous and dorky) to protect his wound site. Until the wound is fully healed (= bone regrowth of 6 weeks, faster with specific healing or regeneration), Zeebo essentially has the equivalent of the “Achilles Heel” mutation on his forehead. (Mutation score 11)
Zeebo wipes the drool from his face, throws off the bedsheets and stands tall. And then his rubbery legs slide out from under him and he flops to the floor. “Fleeeblin bleh blahbaba” he shouts loudly. It takes the better part of an hour before Zeebo gets his speech and motor control function back to normal. Please click the link below for the audio equivalent of his recovery!
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It is now evening (Klos 17th, 350 AC, 18:00) which in late winter/early spring means it is dark again. What now?
Boztun Badlands, Klos 17th, 350AC, 9:10 (overcast, 37 degrees, crescent moon)
Arvak has Zeebo slung over his shoulder. Phallon and some of the soldiers cover Ragnor as he inspects the body and device in the snow. The body appears to be a dead teenaged true man, with burns in his abdomen and left thigh. He is wearing a hole-ridden set of furs (fur side facing inward), and a pair of shiny black gloves made of a synthetic material. On the body or near it, Ragnor discovers:
As Ragnor lifts up the metal device, chunks of ice and snow crumble off of it. Between the entire group, the device is identified as a beat up ancient mountain bike. The rubber tires have short metal studs protruding from their treads.
Secret IN rolls for Ragnor, Phallon, and Arvak. Hmmm, none of you recognize this youth. He could be from the Klintok tribe as they are true men who often use ancient bicycles.
Boztun Badlands, Klos 17th, 350AC, 9:05 (overcast, 37 degrees, crescent moon)
No Todd, the drooling was just funny. This is cruel…
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Phallon, Bren, and Zarr continue to stand on the perimeter, aiming their weapons at the body and strange metal contraption crumpled in the snow. A minute passes and nothing happens.
The other soldiers stand guard, melee weapons at the ready, while Ragnor and Arvak look over Zeebo. Ozzul turns his head and looks at Arvak. “Naah, we don’t have any healer stuff. If he took a good hit to the head, he’ll probably not be able to continue with us until he recovers. If he recovers.
Again, it looks like Zeebo’s alive but is staring blankly, and is unaware of his surroundings. You have never seen him struck dumb like this before.
What now?
Boztun Badlands, Klos 17th, 350AC, 9:03 (overcast, 37 degrees, crescent moon)
Zarr knocks another arrow and waits, looking towards the remaining ice worm. Bren reloads his crossbow. Yorvil and Nevlok have now dragged Zeebo well away from the scene.
Ozzul clubs the ice worm again (12): 6 6 =blue hit. BD 10 – 7ac = 3 x 1RF = 3 points of damage. Blop! The wretched worm finally splats flat and its energy disk is extinguished.
No other ice worms emerge at this point. Arvak moves up. Phallon sees his target is gone and is able to hold off on firing again. Ragnor observes, no need to take a shot, which would probably blast Ozzul anyway.
What now?
Boztun Badlands, Klos 17th, 350AC, 9:03 (overcast, 37 degrees, crescent moon)
Ice Worm 2 contorts its body, bringing its energy field into contact with the crossbow bolt sticking out of it. Pfffffffffffffff the bolt disintegrates into dust.
Ice Worm 3 attacks (1-2 Yorva, 3-4 Zeebo, 5-6 Nevlok: 2) Yorva. Yorva makes a precognition roll (7): 3 3 = white, so she continues to drag Zeebo and doesn’t dodge. The attack (11): 30 3 = white. The ice worm springs through the air but misses its target and falls back to the snow.
Yorva and Nevlok continue to drag Zeebo away from the scene. Nevlok, just burned by the worm, brings his orlen saber around to bear, but the target is gone. Ozzul moves up and tries to pound the worm with his club (12): 4 6 = white.
Zarr and Bren fire their weapons at Ice Worm 2. Bren (10): 6 7 = blue. BD 11 – 7ac = 4 points of damage. Zarr (12): 2 9 = white. The worm gets plugged by Bren, and as hurt as it was, goes still. Its blue energy field goes out.
Ragnor heads over to Phallon, but again, there are too many friendlies right next to the worm to get off a safe shotgun blast from that direction.
Arvak tries to use telekinesis on the new worm (14): 1 6 = white. Can’t quite grab it, must be small/slippery and too many friends around it…
Phallon steps back and fires again at the worm. Hmm, better not miss, you could hit Ozzul! The shot (8): 90 7 = orange hit! BD 14 – 7ac = 7 x 4RF = 28 points of damage. This hit really blows a lot of goo out of the worm, and it looks really hurt: it thrashes spastically, then slows down a lot.
Next actions?
Initiative
Boztun Badlands, Klos 17th, 350AC, 9:02 (overcast, 37 degrees, crescent moon)
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Ragnor didn’t declare an action. Anyway, there are a lot of friends between him and the worm, so the shotgun is probably not the best weapon here.
Arvak has to make another telekinesis roll to keep control of the wriggling ice worm (14): 4 5 = blue. Still gottem.
Phallon takes another shot before the soldiers close. BLAM. The smell of gunpowder is strong in the cold winter air. Another metal bullet casing flies off into the snow. (8): 10 0 = white.
Bren fires his crossbow (11): 0 0 = red result. BD 11 – 7ac = 4 x 5 = 20 points of damage. The bolt skewers the worm, yet it continues to wriggle and maintains its burning blue energy disk.
Corporal Ozzul growls at the other soldiers, “Get the doctor outta here! I’ll cover ya!” Yorva the sleeth hisses “Waattch out, thhhere’s more!” Yorva and Nevlok each grab one of Zeebo’s legs and they start to drag him away. Ozzul runs up to the ice worm hovering in the air and tries to play some T-ball using his spiked club. -1CS due to size, +4 CS due to being held motionless, and a white result will count as a blue hit in this situation (15): 7 9 = yellow hit. BD 10 – 7ac = 3 x 3RF = 9 points of damage. There is a crack of wood on the dense fibrous worm, and it sails off into left field. Well, it awkwardly flies about 30 meters away and plops into the snow. (obviously broke free from Arvak’s telekinesis)
Another ice worm springs out of the snow and attacks Nevlok (11): 50 6 = blue. BD 10, ignores ac, x 1RF = 10 points of damage.
Initiative
What now?
Boztun Badlands, Klos 17th, 350AC, 9:02 (overcast, 37 degrees, crescent moon)
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Phallon continues to flank to the right with Zarr. Now with an ice worm hovering in the air, he takes a shot with his heavy pistol. (8 – 1CS for target size = 7): 10 9 = white.
Zarr takes a shot with his short bow (10 – 1CS for target size = 9): 4 4 = white.
Bren kneels down in the show and aims with his crossbow for the round.
The other members of shadow squad continue to bound through the snow and are just about upon Zeebo’s body and the ice worm.
Arvak continues his telekinetic hold on the ice worm and moves it more safely away from Zeebo.
Ragnor also moves up, shotgun at the ready. At present no other worms appear. And there are too many friendlies in the area for a good shotgun blast at the worm.
Initiative
What now?
Boztun Badlands, Klos 17th, 350AC, 9:02 (overcast, 37 degrees, crescent moon)
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Phallon follows Zarr as they flank around to the right.
Zeebo dodges (13): 1 5 = white. Zeebo life leeches (9): 5 7 = blue, 2 2 = white, 0 8 = white. Zeebo gains 6 hit points. Total up to 108 temporarily.
Ragnor starts to look around for other enemies in the vicinity (doesn’t see any at first glance), then decides to start moving forward, shotgun in hand.
Two of the ice worms burrow back down into the snow (including the original one). The remaining one springs forward at Zeebo. Its attack (11): 00 0 = red result. Zeebo’s displacement (9): 2 1 = white. Damage = BD 10 ignores ac x 5RF = 50 points of damage. Hp down to 58. Zeebo makes a CN save on the critical injury chart (7): 1 8 = white. Result = coma.
The ice worm smacks into Zeebo’s head, its energy field roasting his flesh. Zeebo lets out a blood curdling scream (possibly high pitched like a little girl?) and collapses unconscious into the snow. The worm is actually stuck in his head, its body wiggling in the air as smoke puffs out of Zeebo’s skull (yum).
The scouts continue to flank, but choose not to fire arrows at Zeebo’s head. Corporal Ozzul, Yorva, and Nevlok all surge forward with their weapons drawn, trying to get to Zeebo.
Arvak uses telekinesis on the one and only very obvious remaining target (14): 7 5 = green. With a nasty splurching sound, the ice worm is pulled out of Zeebo’s head like a javelin out of a watermelon. It hangs in the air, wriggling.
Actions? Initiative
