Middex Armory, Training Room, Klos 4th, 350AC, 12:00

Ghool 2 continues to claw its way over the bed.  Zeebo continues to try to stop it with telekinesis.  Zeebo’s roll (12): 3 9 = white.  The ghool leaps forward, clawing at Zeebo (11): 20 4 = white.  It misses, but will be over the bed by the end of the turn.

Arvak swings his hammer at the ghool, just after it leaps (18): 8 6 = orange hit.  The hammer comes down along its thigh, breaking its femur and shattering its knee.  The leg is now hanging and flopping, but the ghool doesn’t seem to care.  Base damage done of 14 points.

Back in the training room, ghool 3 stops fleeing, and heads back towards Phallon.  Phallon drops his pack, draws his monoknife, runs around the south side of the equipment, and fires his heavy pistol (8): 90 7 = orange hit.  Base damage of 14 points.  The bullet tears into its abdomen.  There is a nasty cracking sound, and the ghool’s upper body tilts and leans almost 90 degrees to the right.  Its legs keep running though, and it freakishly reaches its arms towards Phallon.

Ghool 1 quickly climbs onto the overturned bed’s frame, crouches down and heads towards Arvak.

Zeebo fires his bow (13): 5 0 = blue hit.  The arrow sticks into the flesh of the ghool’s back without much effect.

Ragnor fires his shotgun (20): 20 6 = blue +1RF to green.  Old programmer clothing and ghool flesh shred, bits of goo spray onto the bed’s mattress, but the ghool is not slowed down much.

Initiative

• Phallon 9 + 2 = 11
• Ragnor 8 + 2 = 10
• Zeebo 6 + 2 = 8
• Ghoolz 8 – 1 = 7, tie breaker 5
• Arvak 6 + 1 = 7, tie breaker 2

Middex Armory, Training Room, Klos 4th, 350AC, 12:00

Phallon fires his heavy pistol at ghool 3 (8): 10 8 = white result.  He also uses fear generation (14): 90 9 = red result.  Ghool makes a MS save on the fear table (7): 10 0 = white, and suffers from weakness.  The ghool’s body spasms once, then it turns and runs, panicking, and slipping along the floor.  If it was wearing heels, it would break one, fall down and start crying.  Happy Birthday!

Ragnor fires his shotgun at ghool 2.  -3CS for cover/visibility (17): 30 1 = white.  The top of the mattress gets shredded a little, and some feathers puff up and float in the air.

Zeebo fires his bow at ghool 2 (-3CS so column 10): 1 0 = white.

The ghoolz move:  #3 runs away as stated above.  #1 and 2 move to attack.  Ghool #2 reaches the bunkbed cover and starts to climb.  Due to its non-functional arm and the coming telekinesis attacks, it has to make a PS check (11): 80 4 = yellow.

Zeebo’s telekinesis (12): 6 3 = blue.  Arvak’s telekinesis (14) 6 6 = green (Happy Birthday!).  The ghool is nearly stopped for a moment.  Its powerful untiring arm and legs continue to pull and push it, it reaches the top of the bunkbed’s first mattress this turn.

Initiatives

• Ghoolz 0 = automatic win
• Arvak 8 + 1 = 9
• Phallon 5 + 2 = 7, tiebreaker 0
• Zeebo 5 + 2 = 7, tiebreaker 5
• Ragnor 1 = automatic loss

Declare your actions.

Middex Armory, Training Room, Klos 4th, 350AC, 12:00

Phallon mental blasts ghool #3 (10): 20 6 = white result.  No effect.  He moves to the south behind some of the exercise equipment.

Ragnor fires his shotgun at ghool #3 (20): 00 9 = white result.  The blast echoes throughout the room, some sparks shoot off some of the equipment from deflected shot.

Zeebo launches an arrow at ghool #2 (13): 8 1 = yellow result.  The arrow sinks into the ghool’s left shoulder, and its arm goes limp.  Base damage of 13 points.

Arvak tips over the bunk bed and places it at the doorway.  Ragnor and Zeebo will have to decide whether to climb into the frame and fire over the first mattress, or fire from behind the second mattress (with negatives).

The ghoolz turn and shuffle quickly towards your group.  Ghool #1 spends most of the turn getting back to its feet before moving to attack.  As they leave the padded mat, Sgt. Matts stands to attention and says in a commanding voice: “This match is over!  You maggots are tied with the all-time low score of zero!  However, you also have the record for longest match time, voluntarily ending it at 28 hours, 14 minutes, and 37 seconds!  Anyone next?!

Initiatives

• Phallon: 9 + 2 = 11
• Ragnor: 8 + 2 = 10
• Zeebo: 5 + 2 = 7, tie breakers 8, 9
• Ghoolz: 8 – 1 = 7, tie breakers 8, 3
• Arvak: 3 + 1 =4

What now?

Middex Armory, Barracks, Klos 4th, 350AC, 12:00

The group heads out of the lounge, through the computer room, and into the barracks.  The door in the west wall of the barracks has the unlocked green light glowing.  Your group opens the door.

Through the door is an 18 x 12 meter room, well lit by the glow panels in the ceiling.  The room is filled with various metal equipment, but your focus is on a group of beings in the northwest corner.

Standing on a large padded floor mat, is a shimmering, almost transleucent true man wearing olive colored pants, black boots, a white t-shirt, and an olive hat with a rank patch on it.  A set of words seem to float in the air over his head: “Sgt. Matts, unarmed level 5“.  Three ghoolz are near him: one is picking itself off the ground, another is shuffling up to attack him, a third is trying to grab and bite him.  The shimmering man blocks the ghool’s arms, punches it in the stomach, then spins and backhands it across the head, causing it to backpedal and fall over onto the mat.

A female Programmer (Nerd rank) is lying weakly on the mat just behind the shimmering man.  A fourth ghool lies motionless nearby, with a combat knife buried in its eye socket.

Awareness rolls:  Arvak (8): 4 0 = white, Phallon (14): 60 0 = blue, Ragnor (16): 60 2 = green, Zeebo (8): 4 5 = white

Ragnor notices a bunch of ancient firearms sitting on shelves in the booths along the northern wall (military pistol and rifle models).  Phallon recognizes that many of the machines here are ancient exercise equipment, similar to the ones he found and helped salvage from the ruins of Maimed Nerd a month or two ago.

What now?

Middex Armory, Lounge, Klos 4th, 350AC, 11:52

Arvak runs up to Zeebo, and grabs onto the ghool (wrestling attack column 19): 8 1 = yellow.  He tears the ghool off of Zeebo and, despite some burning of his hands (2 points of damage), chucks it over the table.

Ragnor moves up, and fires his shotgun as the ghool is in mid-air (short range).  Shotgun (20): 80 8 = orange +1RF (heightened precision) = red hit.  BD 18 – 0AC x5 = 90 points of damage.  The shot pulps its head and its body splats down onto the carpet.

End of combat.  What next?

Middex Armory, Lounge, Klos 4th, 350AC, 11:52

The mini-ghool leaps onto Zeebo’s head/chest.  Wrestling attack (11): 80 2 = green.  Its arms and legs lock around him with untiring strength.  It tries to bite him (11): 40 3 = white.  Its body starts to glow from within: a green-yellow color, and Zeebo feels a wave of heat emit from it which starts to burn him (X): 50 0 = green.  Zeebo’s displacement (9): 2 8 = white.  BD 2 x 2RF = 4 points of damage.  Down to 74 hit points.

Ragnor fires his shotgun.  For this and similar situations, I’ve created a new set of rules regarding “shotgun collateral damage“, check it out in the “rules & resources” page.  Attack on ghool (20): 10 0 = white.  Second roll to see if Zeebo takes some shot (17): 00 4 = white (yowza) so Zeebo is hit by the eqivalent of a blue attack.  BD 18 – 6AC = 12 points of damage.  Down to 62 hit points.

Zeebo has to make a CN save vs. stun (7): 0 9 = white, so at 1/2 columns this turn.  He tries to throw the ghool across the room.  Due to the ghool’s hold, he is also at -2CS and needs a yellow to break the hold.  Wrestling attack: Rank 6 +1PS +1DX -2CS hold = 6 x 1/2 for stun = column 3.  3 3 = white.  Zeebo strains at the burning rubbery arms without effect.  The ghool’s sharp teeth continue to clack at him, its foul breath wafts over him…

Arvak throws a spike at the ghool (15): 5 0 = blue.  The spike hits it in the back with a meaty slap and clatters to the floor.  The ghool doesn’t seem to react at all.  (No damage)

Initiative

• Arvak: 0 = automatic win
• Ragnor: 8 + 2 = 10
• mini-ghool: 6 – 1 = 5
• Zeebo: 2 + 2 = 4
• Phallon: 1 = automatic loss

Middex Armory, plush lounge?, Klos 4th, 350AC, 11:51

Phallon walks by the comfy chairs and takes the tahbik twigs off the table, and pockets them.  (There are four of them, each individually wrapped in clean clear plastic)  He then quietly heads down the hallway, which no longer has the carpeting, and around the corner is a door.  The control panel on this one has a lit up red light.

Ragnor looks closer at the controls.  There is one glowing blue button set into the black panel on the tabletop’s west edge.  To it’s right side are three inset circles made of the same black smooth material (glass? plastic? high-tech black alloy?).  Ragnor isn’t sure if they are functional buttons or not.

*GM’s Note: I’ve marked the table as artifact 1 on the map.  The other one with a blue button is artifact 2, although that one has many other buttons, switches, and dials.  There are three other artifacts (labled #3) that are likely the same type of machine, as they are all similar in size and have a similar keypad control.  Each corner of the room has a protruding black component, smooth with no obvious controls.

Dr. Zeebo sprints through the base, making it to the room in under a minute.  Good thing he was with the group as they discussed where they were going!  As he catches his breath, Arvak closes the door.

Middex Armory, Computer Room, Klos 4th, 350AC, 11:50

Arvak, Phallon, and Ragnor head back through the base and into the computer room.  The control panel next to the door in the southern wall has the green light on, indicating that it is unlocked.

The heros gather around the door and open it.  The door slides sideways to reveal an 8 x 5 meter room.  The floor here is covered by plush wall to wall carpet.  The west end of the room has 4 leather armchairs and some small wooden tables, on which sit some glasses, ceramic ashtrays, and ancient tahbik twigs.  The walls have wood framing/baseboards.  Several framed portraits of true men and women, wearing ancient jackets, ties, etc, are hung on the walls.  The east end of the room has several ancient machines – generally rectangular cases made of metal and glass with various controls and buttons, one of which is glowing blue.  The middle of the room has a long smooth wooden table, with an inset black panel running around the edge.  Several buttons are on the panel, and one is glowing blue.

The lighting is fairly dim when you open the door, but as you step inside it lights up to a warm soft glow (quickly but smoothly as if on a dimmer switch).

Middex Armory, Security Room, Klos 4th, 350AC, 11:45

Next round of experience:

• Arvak gets 38 XP (big bonuses for wiping out 1.5 ghoolz by himself)
• Phallon gets 17 XP (no extra for shooting self, best roll lately by far)
• Rangor gets 15 XP (skipped 5 out of 18 turns so less interaction)
• Zeebo gets 26 XP (computer skills, info gathering, roleplaying)

See player stats for updated XP totals.

All the Programmers are going to sleep now except Meyer who is guarding, and Jackson.  Jackson goes up to Meyer, points at Zeebo, and says, “The Doctor can kill those things with his MIND!!”

Where to now?  Arvak has voted through the barracks.  Phallon has voted through the Computer room (do you mean the south door, or the west door?)