28th Feb dawned and Ben and I left at 06:30 to drive down to Mongoose Towers at Swindon to take part in the Corporation Launch event. The motorway and roads were clear and we arrived at 08:20, despite the gonzo AA route planner taking us down a dead end in Swindon. We found the Sunflower Café and met up with Last Best Hope, who was having breakfast. We had a full English breakfast and a giant mug of tea and talked about RPG’s of all kinds. We headed down to Mongoose and got in just after nine. There was a whole range of stuff on offer; I bought the reprint of the rule book and Machines of War and Eastern Bank ( so my signed copy of the core rule book can be preserved), and Ben bought himself one of the Lone Wolf books. Met a few more people and chatted to them (Arakor, Agent Baxter (Ruth) and James); then it was time for the first game. Arakor was our GM; there was Ben and I plus two other guys who were new to the game (Jason and … sorry, can’t remember, was it Craig?) plus another observer sitting in.
Characters were pre-genned; our Division (code name Mad Dog) were EI. I was Division Leader, specialising in dual weapons with pistols plus lying and acting. To back this up I had Krieg Ocular Repigmentation. Ben was an assassin/stealth expert with a sniper rifle, Jason was a nuke toting a laser cannon and our fourth member was a tech. My heart sank when I saw Bingo wings on the assigned equipment list; with an Agility of 8 and no Athletics I was not the best person to be using these.
The Mission brief given by Mr Henderson (= NCIS Gibbs). Agent Lauren Vetch, in deep cover in the Altai gene labs (Ai-Jinn territory) had missed a scheduled check call. Conclusion was she had been compromised. Our Mission – go in and get her out.
As I feared, the insertion involved exiting a stratospheric shuttle and dropping down to the landing site some 30 miles from the lab facility. The only sat photo was some years out of date and the area was now sat – blanketed. As it turned out, the drop wasn’t too bad, we landed in heavy snow, after some time we regrouped and headed for the labs. Ben took point, after some time he reported movement ahead. A Sentinel droid!. A shot with the EMP rifle had little effect, Bens rifle shot revealed that it was ion –shielded. A combination of cougar fire, followed by a laser blast took out the shield then blew the thing apart. Our tech examined the smoking remains; got some radio codes and determined that no alert had been raised. Approaching the lab, it was ringed with AV cameras. We bypassed these by using an invisibility field and a brief shut down of the camera. The labs were a squat, concrete building, two vehicle entrances, and a helipad with a chopper parked and a normal door. A guard was seen on the roof; a superb sniper headshot by Ben took them out. At the rear was an uplink comms tower. A remote detonated explosive was planted on this by Jason; realising that the chopper was our only escape route, a quick examination showed that it was locked and chip coded on a starter key. AV bugs were placed to cover the helo, and then we headed for the main door.
Boldly marching in, I used the Ocular Repigmentation to change my eye colour; wearing buttoned up Cold Weather camo to disguise my face, as did the others. I announced in fluent Mandarin that I was Major-General Chang, come to collect the prisoner. A flustered- looking officer came out and apologised, but Agent Chow was already here interrogating the prisoner. I tore a strip off him, asking why he had assumed that Vetch was the only Agent, had he searched further and that he would pay for his incompetence. Jason blew the radio tower, the guards were sent out to search for the saboteur. Ben assassinated the officer, Craig accessed the computers and shut down the security systems and the droids (apparently there were two Murder-class droids present!).
Deeper into the complex; the dead officer’s hand/ID chip was used to get us into the main lab complex.. Agent Chow challenged us but I was able to successfully pull off the role of Major-General Chang again. He agreed to bring the prisoner out. Realising that the bluff was not going to stand up to close scrutiny, as soon as they appeared, Chow and two females (Agents? – they were packing some impressive kit) along with Vetch, a fire fight erupted at close range which took them all out. Agent Chow had the key for the helicopter. Returning via the garage area, a final appearance of Major-General Chang got the helo prepped for flight whilst the rest of the Division took out the guards outside. Jason flew us back to EI territory.
The Mission was a complete success.
We broke for lunch and then started the second Mission. We swapped groups; the GM for the second Mission was James (Norbury, the person who wrote the game). LBH was leader, Eric was a psychotic Frenchman, Hugo was a computer hacker, Jon was a Nordic (Icelandic) gunbunny and Ben was the assassin again.
I’m a wheelman, I can drive or pilot anything. I also like explosions and carry a stock of explosives. Although I’ve got a cougar, my favoured weapon is a Rocket pistol (loaded with 6 small rockets). Kaboom!
The Mission was to locate and recover a top-secret experimental droid that apparently had emotive response programming. Codenamed TIMMEE (?), it had been lured out of the lab by the theft of his favourite teddy bear Solomon(!) A fun time was had interrogating the lab staff, with Jon and Eric playing ‘Bad Cop/Worse Cop’ respectively. It appeared that one of them, Yuri, knew more than he was letting on; a search of his apartment by Hugo, Ben and I revealed some real incriminating stuff, it also resulted in Huge nearly being force-fed a huge slice of chocolate cake. With this info, Jon and Eric really put the pressure on and he confessed to being part of the Droid Liberation Army (if Eric had had his way then he would also have confessed to being a member of the Order, of the Cult, to being a rogue Archon or in fact to be nothing more than a highly evolved bicycle!) He identified his contact, who Hugo was able to backtrack through the security cameras, and eventually the trail led to Tokyo Old City (Shi-Yukiro territory – stock up on Compound H!) A disused metro station was apparently a DLA meeting point and the guy we were seeking was there. Ben tried to sneak up on him but got himself trapped and repeatedly shot at PB range with a blade launcher. The rest of us piled in, a few Flash-bangs took out the mooks and a few rounds of combat took out the rest. The missing robot wasn’t there but it turned out it was being kept in a video arcade in the shopping mall above. We headed upstairs to the arcade and set off the fire alarms as a diversion. Three Shi-Yukiro Agents exited out of the rear door at impossible speed and attacked, I targeted the one carrying the twin plasma pistols with my rocket pistol and missed (critically). The rocket punched through into the storeroom, there was an explosion and bits of burning robot flew out of the door. Oops. A second shot at some security guards out in the Mall also missed and set a shop on fire.
“It is the rocket pistol M’seur” said Eric helpfully. “You are expecting recoil no? Perhaps you are overcompensating”
“No,” I replied. “I’m just shit with it”
“That’s what we meant,” said LBH. “We were just being tactful”
Eventually the SY Agents were taken down, one in a particularly graphic way by Eric with a full strength Mental Assault; but not without some bad wounds on our side. The remains of TIMMEE were recovered and we headed out and back to Magadan Spire.
By now it was 17:15 and it was time to pack up and go. We said our thanks and goodbyes and headed back up the motorway, getting home just after 19:00.
Overall, we really enjoyed the day. It was great to meet with people and put faces to names; I gather from reading on Deniable Resources that some others were there (Ook, Uber etc.) It would be good if a meet-up like that could be held on a regular basis (Corporation Day?)
First thoughts on MoW and EB – there is a LOT here to take in. The new trainings open up a whole range of possibilities and EB – only just beginning to take in the whole concept. Were they worth the wait? Very definite YES!
Happy gaming…
Monday, 2 March 2009
Thursday, 19 February 2009
CORPORATION
Half-term and a game of Corporation at Halesowen Boardgamers. Present were Richard, Daniel, Ben, Ben C, Joe, James and Matthew. All members of Division Tertius, Eurasian Inc. They were summoned to see Colonel Rader, their Briefing Officer who told them that another Division, in deep cover, had been captured when their cover was blown. Taken prisoner by Comoros CIA; they are imprisoned on an offshore prison platform; an old drilling rig 90km off the coast of North Africa. The Mission was relatively straightforward, go in and rescue them. A secondary Mission was to investigate what the old rig was being used for now. They spent some time planning the raid; they had the use of a 5000-ton freighter (the ‘Blue Star’) as a base ship, a Gates-Learjet GL61 hover copter and four fast attack semi-inflatables. The ‘Blue Star’ was under orders not to approach closer than 300km to the platform. Richard, Daniel and Ben purchased Stealth Suits and one-use rocket packs to boost them from the water level 30m up onto the platform deck.. The plan was that they would sneak onto the platform from the east whilst the other four landed on the boat jetty and made their way up onto the platform via the stairs next to the derrick. Dan’s team would then locate the prisoners whilst Ben C’s team stood guard and engaged any hostiles. They aimed to assault the platform at 22:00.
Ben C successfully navigated them across 200km of sea to the platform, as Boat 1 approached the jetty, Boat 2 made its way under the platform to the east side. They noted the radar scanner on the roof of a building with red-lit windows, they also noted that there was no drill string from the derrick. Co-ordinating by smeaker, Team 1 headed off the jetty to the stairs; paying scant attention to a security camera. At the top of the stairs they looked out onto the platform deck, lit with occasional lights. To their right was the derrick, 40m high with red aircraft warning lights. Straight ahead was the red-lit control room, with the radar scanner atop, to their left a row of buildings and a set of metal stairs up to the helicopter landing pad. On the east side, Richard steered the boat opposite a low area of deck and they boosted themselves up, one at a time. Richard misjudged it and hit the deck railing; he just managed to grab the rail and hastily Dan and Ben pulled him up. Unfortunately, no one remembered to secure the boat.
Team one headed out across the deck. Without warning, full floodlights snapped on and a disembodied voice ordered them to surrender…
Ben C and Joe beat a strategic retreat toward the steps down to the boat jetty. Four guards, wearing brown uniforms, with ion shields and laser rifles, opened fire. There were two on the roof by the helipad, another on the control room roof and a fourth in the corridor on the LH side of the control room. Several hits were scored; no recalibration was needed as no-one in the Division has an ion shield. Matthew fired his plasma pistol at the guard on the control room roof; not realising (or caring) that Team 2 were in the passage just beyond.. That was when they realised the guards were wearing shields. James fired his rocket pistol at the guard by the helipad; well hit! The explosion took out his shield but also ignited the fuel stored under the pad. A further exchange of shots occurred; Daniel shot the guard on the control room roof in the back; taking out his shield. He and Richard then explored the passage behind the control room; ignoring the steps down they burst into the kitchen and took the cooks prisoner. Ben crept forward to the control room door and peered in; saw two guards and two crew in orange coveralls.
Back out on the deck, Matthew fired at the guards on the helipad roof, hurting one and taking out the other. James blasted the one on the control room roof, taking him out but catching Ben in the rocket’s explosion. Daniel and Richard were confronted by another guard whilst Daniel was assembling his M50; Richard used one of the cooks as a meat shield and demanded to know where the prisoners were. The guard refused to answer and raised his rifle, shooting and killing the cook.. At this point a ball of flame came up the passage to their left and engulfed them all.
Ben rolled around to put out the fire and went back into the control room. Part of the ceiling had come down; two crew and one guard were out and he triple-tapped the last guard to put him out permanently. An attempt to hack the computer locked it down. He didn’t see the telephone. He grabbed the guards laser rifle.
Out on the main deck, despite taking fire from the guard on the Flight office roof to the left; Team One combined fire to take out the two guards who had burst out from a door under the blazing helicopter deck. James fired at the guard by the control room; a hit that took him down and sent a ball of fire screaming up the corridor beyond. Ben C tapped the guard on the Flight Office roof ( who now had no way of escaping as the helipad was well and truly burning), Matthew took him with a plasma bolt that blew him overboard into the sea.
Recovering quickly from the fireball, Daniel cut loose with the M50 at the guard who killed the cook; the close-range burst rendered his shield ineffective and took him out. The slugs punched through the partition wall and took out several people in the mess hall beyond.
Suddenly it was all over. The upper deck was a mess, with the helipad a blazing inferno, a lesser fire burning on the roof of the control building. Matthew and James had taken several hits, as had Daniel, Ben and Richard (mainly from friendly collateral damage).
The Division regrouped and headed down the stairs behind the control room, emerging into what was probably a guard room (table, several chairs and thrown-down hands of cards). A telephone on the wall linked with the control room.. Two doors led out, they split into their Teams again and investigated.
Team 1 found themselves in a Treatment room, a dentist’s chair with steel webbing restraints, a battery of overhead lamps, and a large helmet-like device with various ports and openings, linked to a large data panel. Beyond this was a laboratory; in here was a data terminal and a large incubator tank. Inside this were lots of black thread-like worms swarming over what appeared to be brain cortex tissue. A hacking attempt on the terminal produced the following on screen information:
[>Verdere succesvolle implants voerden uit: 85% volledige terugwinning van onderwerpen. Adviseer bewegingsproject tot Stadium III.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: >Doelstellingen geïdentificeerdi C & D. Het doel D heeft het Speciale potentieel van het Geval dat op profiel wordt gebaseerd]
Paper was found and a copy was made, ready for translation.
Beyond this, a set of stairs led back up to the Platform deck. They noted with some alarm that the fire had spread from the helipad. Boat 2 had drifted away, and there was not enough room on Boat 1 to accommodate everyone. They ran back to the radio room and attempted to raise the ‘Blue Star’. They used the correct recognition codes but the Master was adamant that the ship would not approach closer than 300km. The Gates-Learjet was despatched carrying the other two boats, ETA 120 mins
Team 2 found a long metal corridor, lined with ship’s bulkhead-like doors with locking wheels. From an open door came the sounds of violence; two guards were giving someone a good kicking. Daniel ordered them to stop; they turned on him but froze when they saw a wild-eyed maniac, slightly smoking, packing an M50. Richard cuffed them and herded them against the wall. The victim was African and had been badly beaten; he said he was a businessman from Damascus. In the next cell were two Asian males, they appeared to be unhurt but for some reason were unable to speak coherently and moved as if they were intoxicated. In the next cell was a young Asian girl, badly wounded from gunshots. Richard used a medipack on her, then found that she couldn’t speak properly either. Investigation revealed she had something embedded in her Process Chip socket, as did the two Asians. This couldn’t be removed; it was locked in somehow. Investigating further, they found an Interrogation Room and beyond this two cells. In one was an Arabic female who had been interrogated (judging by the marks on her). She was bleeding from the left ear. The businessman identified her as his business partner. In the other cell was a young 16 year-old African girl; her white eyes indicated she was blind. No-one knew who she was, they took her along anyway; the temperature was rising due to the fires raging overhead.
On the upper deck they regrouped and waited for pickup. It was touch and go as the rig began to disintegrate; the GL61 dropped the boats and Ben C and Joe went out to get them. As they all headed off in the boats they saw lights in the sky, approaching from the mainland.
Ben C successfully navigated them across 200km of sea to the platform, as Boat 1 approached the jetty, Boat 2 made its way under the platform to the east side. They noted the radar scanner on the roof of a building with red-lit windows, they also noted that there was no drill string from the derrick. Co-ordinating by smeaker, Team 1 headed off the jetty to the stairs; paying scant attention to a security camera. At the top of the stairs they looked out onto the platform deck, lit with occasional lights. To their right was the derrick, 40m high with red aircraft warning lights. Straight ahead was the red-lit control room, with the radar scanner atop, to their left a row of buildings and a set of metal stairs up to the helicopter landing pad. On the east side, Richard steered the boat opposite a low area of deck and they boosted themselves up, one at a time. Richard misjudged it and hit the deck railing; he just managed to grab the rail and hastily Dan and Ben pulled him up. Unfortunately, no one remembered to secure the boat.
Team one headed out across the deck. Without warning, full floodlights snapped on and a disembodied voice ordered them to surrender…
Ben C and Joe beat a strategic retreat toward the steps down to the boat jetty. Four guards, wearing brown uniforms, with ion shields and laser rifles, opened fire. There were two on the roof by the helipad, another on the control room roof and a fourth in the corridor on the LH side of the control room. Several hits were scored; no recalibration was needed as no-one in the Division has an ion shield. Matthew fired his plasma pistol at the guard on the control room roof; not realising (or caring) that Team 2 were in the passage just beyond.. That was when they realised the guards were wearing shields. James fired his rocket pistol at the guard by the helipad; well hit! The explosion took out his shield but also ignited the fuel stored under the pad. A further exchange of shots occurred; Daniel shot the guard on the control room roof in the back; taking out his shield. He and Richard then explored the passage behind the control room; ignoring the steps down they burst into the kitchen and took the cooks prisoner. Ben crept forward to the control room door and peered in; saw two guards and two crew in orange coveralls.
Back out on the deck, Matthew fired at the guards on the helipad roof, hurting one and taking out the other. James blasted the one on the control room roof, taking him out but catching Ben in the rocket’s explosion. Daniel and Richard were confronted by another guard whilst Daniel was assembling his M50; Richard used one of the cooks as a meat shield and demanded to know where the prisoners were. The guard refused to answer and raised his rifle, shooting and killing the cook.. At this point a ball of flame came up the passage to their left and engulfed them all.
Ben rolled around to put out the fire and went back into the control room. Part of the ceiling had come down; two crew and one guard were out and he triple-tapped the last guard to put him out permanently. An attempt to hack the computer locked it down. He didn’t see the telephone. He grabbed the guards laser rifle.
Out on the main deck, despite taking fire from the guard on the Flight office roof to the left; Team One combined fire to take out the two guards who had burst out from a door under the blazing helicopter deck. James fired at the guard by the control room; a hit that took him down and sent a ball of fire screaming up the corridor beyond. Ben C tapped the guard on the Flight Office roof ( who now had no way of escaping as the helipad was well and truly burning), Matthew took him with a plasma bolt that blew him overboard into the sea.
Recovering quickly from the fireball, Daniel cut loose with the M50 at the guard who killed the cook; the close-range burst rendered his shield ineffective and took him out. The slugs punched through the partition wall and took out several people in the mess hall beyond.
Suddenly it was all over. The upper deck was a mess, with the helipad a blazing inferno, a lesser fire burning on the roof of the control building. Matthew and James had taken several hits, as had Daniel, Ben and Richard (mainly from friendly collateral damage).
The Division regrouped and headed down the stairs behind the control room, emerging into what was probably a guard room (table, several chairs and thrown-down hands of cards). A telephone on the wall linked with the control room.. Two doors led out, they split into their Teams again and investigated.
Team 1 found themselves in a Treatment room, a dentist’s chair with steel webbing restraints, a battery of overhead lamps, and a large helmet-like device with various ports and openings, linked to a large data panel. Beyond this was a laboratory; in here was a data terminal and a large incubator tank. Inside this were lots of black thread-like worms swarming over what appeared to be brain cortex tissue. A hacking attempt on the terminal produced the following on screen information:
[>Verdere succesvolle implants voerden uit: 85% volledige terugwinning van onderwerpen. Adviseer bewegingsproject tot Stadium III.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
: >Doelstellingen geïdentificeerdi C & D. Het doel D heeft het Speciale potentieel van het Geval dat op profiel wordt gebaseerd]
Paper was found and a copy was made, ready for translation.
Beyond this, a set of stairs led back up to the Platform deck. They noted with some alarm that the fire had spread from the helipad. Boat 2 had drifted away, and there was not enough room on Boat 1 to accommodate everyone. They ran back to the radio room and attempted to raise the ‘Blue Star’. They used the correct recognition codes but the Master was adamant that the ship would not approach closer than 300km. The Gates-Learjet was despatched carrying the other two boats, ETA 120 mins
Team 2 found a long metal corridor, lined with ship’s bulkhead-like doors with locking wheels. From an open door came the sounds of violence; two guards were giving someone a good kicking. Daniel ordered them to stop; they turned on him but froze when they saw a wild-eyed maniac, slightly smoking, packing an M50. Richard cuffed them and herded them against the wall. The victim was African and had been badly beaten; he said he was a businessman from Damascus. In the next cell were two Asian males, they appeared to be unhurt but for some reason were unable to speak coherently and moved as if they were intoxicated. In the next cell was a young Asian girl, badly wounded from gunshots. Richard used a medipack on her, then found that she couldn’t speak properly either. Investigation revealed she had something embedded in her Process Chip socket, as did the two Asians. This couldn’t be removed; it was locked in somehow. Investigating further, they found an Interrogation Room and beyond this two cells. In one was an Arabic female who had been interrogated (judging by the marks on her). She was bleeding from the left ear. The businessman identified her as his business partner. In the other cell was a young 16 year-old African girl; her white eyes indicated she was blind. No-one knew who she was, they took her along anyway; the temperature was rising due to the fires raging overhead.
On the upper deck they regrouped and waited for pickup. It was touch and go as the rig began to disintegrate; the GL61 dropped the boats and Ben C and Joe went out to get them. As they all headed off in the boats they saw lights in the sky, approaching from the mainland.
Thursday, 22 January 2009
Corporation
Played a game of Corporation over the last two evenings; getting back into it in anticipation of the launch of the new rule books.
Mission Report :20.01.2509
The Solo Affair
Report from Operative Tara Chang
Background: Tara Chang is an Ai-Jinn Investigator Operative. A gennie (genetic construct), she has increased HP.
Mission: Investigate EI Facility Delta Five-Seven on the outskirts of the Catalan Spire Complex.
From the outside the Facility was a featureless concrete cube, with only a single entrance off-set to one side. There were no apparent security devices. The door was the pushbutton type and opened to a large room containing several tables and chairs, with a vending machine on the left wall. Sitting at a table was a mook wearing a techs coverall; he looked up when I entered but then ignored me. I reasoned that his coverall and ID badge could be useful so, walking past him I jabbed the tazer into his neck. I tied him with his shirt, gagged him then carried him round the side of the building.
Back inside, found what appeared to be an empty storeroom and a diamond shaped room with three exits. Went left, large room with a 1m high dias flanked by tables. Not sure what this room was used for. On floor under table, credit chip showing 1000c (!) LH door opened and mook tech came in, carrying a short sword in a case. Asked me if I was waiting for this, “No” I replied. He shrugged and went through the door I had entered from. Through RH door into corridor, through another door into a T-shaped room with desks and computer terminals. Would have liked to have examined these more, but there was a guard here (wearing black uniform, cap and flack jacket. Noted he had a tazer and a kinetic pistol). Acknowledging him (I always work on the theory “ Act like you belong here”), I crossed over to the opposite door. Ah … dead end. Room with table and two chairs, no other exits (interrogation room?). Back in the other room, the guard eyed my ID badge but made no other move as I went through the door next to him. Short corridor led to room with more desks and computer terminals, two other exits. Started to cross it; too late I saw the laser scanning system up near the ceiling.
ATTENTION! POSSIBLE INTRUDER IN BUILDING!
Short corridor led to a briefing room, 2m dias with steps up to desk and chair, projection screen on one wall. No other exits. Exit back to previous room, encounter two guards who check my ID. Yet again my Lying and Acting gets me past them; but my luck is not going to hold. I’ve established that this is probably the base for an EI Division; the lack of personnel indicating that they are out on a Mission. Time to exit. I assumed that the guards had deactivated the laser scan but I was wrong, an alarm began to sound somewhere. A door led to an octagonal room with chairs in a semicircle around a projection screen (training room?) Room beyond was an office with desks and cabinets. Two guards here, my ID was checked again; they are obviously suspicious. I thought about taking them out but my forte is stealth operations and I prefer not to initiate combat if I can help it. Right hand door led back to the diamond-shaped room I has been in before; so I knew I could get out.
ATTENTION! INTRUDER IN BUILDING! ALL SECTION HEADS CHECK ID
Risked one more look-round. Bad call! Ran into three guards, who immediately initiated combat: -
“That’s her! Take her alive”
I activated my shield and double tapped Guard 1. The other guards activated shields and returned fire. The room was a storeroom with a moderate degree of cover, but soon my shield was down and I was taking hits. The guards were well trained, always moving and firing two shots at a time. Guard 1 was down so I changed tactics, keeping a suppression fire on Guard 3, I closed with Guard 2 and took them down with the tazer. I then double-tapped Guard 3 and took out Guard 2 with a headshot. I grabbed his ion shield and two SMART clips and headed for the exit, as I was badly wounded.
INTRUDER ARMED AND DANGEROUS. SHOOT TO KILL
Exited facility, made it to exit point.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aftermath
Total information gained 6 pts. Facility Delta Five-seven appears to be a Division base. Also gained was credit chip worth 1000c, two SMART clips and a 10 pt ion shield.
Operative Chang is awarded 2 x.p and 1 Rank Point. Pay is 700c with no Performance Bonus.
Mission Report :20.01.2509
The Solo Affair
Report from Operative Tara Chang
Background: Tara Chang is an Ai-Jinn Investigator Operative. A gennie (genetic construct), she has increased HP.
Mission: Investigate EI Facility Delta Five-Seven on the outskirts of the Catalan Spire Complex.
From the outside the Facility was a featureless concrete cube, with only a single entrance off-set to one side. There were no apparent security devices. The door was the pushbutton type and opened to a large room containing several tables and chairs, with a vending machine on the left wall. Sitting at a table was a mook wearing a techs coverall; he looked up when I entered but then ignored me. I reasoned that his coverall and ID badge could be useful so, walking past him I jabbed the tazer into his neck. I tied him with his shirt, gagged him then carried him round the side of the building.
Back inside, found what appeared to be an empty storeroom and a diamond shaped room with three exits. Went left, large room with a 1m high dias flanked by tables. Not sure what this room was used for. On floor under table, credit chip showing 1000c (!) LH door opened and mook tech came in, carrying a short sword in a case. Asked me if I was waiting for this, “No” I replied. He shrugged and went through the door I had entered from. Through RH door into corridor, through another door into a T-shaped room with desks and computer terminals. Would have liked to have examined these more, but there was a guard here (wearing black uniform, cap and flack jacket. Noted he had a tazer and a kinetic pistol). Acknowledging him (I always work on the theory “ Act like you belong here”), I crossed over to the opposite door. Ah … dead end. Room with table and two chairs, no other exits (interrogation room?). Back in the other room, the guard eyed my ID badge but made no other move as I went through the door next to him. Short corridor led to room with more desks and computer terminals, two other exits. Started to cross it; too late I saw the laser scanning system up near the ceiling.
ATTENTION! POSSIBLE INTRUDER IN BUILDING!
Short corridor led to a briefing room, 2m dias with steps up to desk and chair, projection screen on one wall. No other exits. Exit back to previous room, encounter two guards who check my ID. Yet again my Lying and Acting gets me past them; but my luck is not going to hold. I’ve established that this is probably the base for an EI Division; the lack of personnel indicating that they are out on a Mission. Time to exit. I assumed that the guards had deactivated the laser scan but I was wrong, an alarm began to sound somewhere. A door led to an octagonal room with chairs in a semicircle around a projection screen (training room?) Room beyond was an office with desks and cabinets. Two guards here, my ID was checked again; they are obviously suspicious. I thought about taking them out but my forte is stealth operations and I prefer not to initiate combat if I can help it. Right hand door led back to the diamond-shaped room I has been in before; so I knew I could get out.
ATTENTION! INTRUDER IN BUILDING! ALL SECTION HEADS CHECK ID
Risked one more look-round. Bad call! Ran into three guards, who immediately initiated combat: -
“That’s her! Take her alive”
I activated my shield and double tapped Guard 1. The other guards activated shields and returned fire. The room was a storeroom with a moderate degree of cover, but soon my shield was down and I was taking hits. The guards were well trained, always moving and firing two shots at a time. Guard 1 was down so I changed tactics, keeping a suppression fire on Guard 3, I closed with Guard 2 and took them down with the tazer. I then double-tapped Guard 3 and took out Guard 2 with a headshot. I grabbed his ion shield and two SMART clips and headed for the exit, as I was badly wounded.
INTRUDER ARMED AND DANGEROUS. SHOOT TO KILL
Exited facility, made it to exit point.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aftermath
Total information gained 6 pts. Facility Delta Five-seven appears to be a Division base. Also gained was credit chip worth 1000c, two SMART clips and a 10 pt ion shield.
Operative Chang is awarded 2 x.p and 1 Rank Point. Pay is 700c with no Performance Bonus.
Sunday, 21 December 2008
The legends of Static
Ben has created his own bit of Krorthar: the Islands of the Skull. Using my Solo system; this is an account of an expedition he ran today:-
15th Ator 352 S
Day one,
Static, Blood rush and Gash went into the tomb of Neb the 1st . Neb the 1st ruled on one of the islands of the Islands of the Skull and has had three sons since. Neb the 3rd currently rules and demands that they find the treasure that is hidden there in the Tomb. So they walk down the steps of the tomb to find a T shaped corridor they went down the left way to find a corridor curving to the left with a door but they left it alone. At the end of the corridor they came to a large room with a 3’ platform in the centre then suddenly Blood rush attacked a lizard folk Gash attacked the lizard folk next to Blood rush. But Blood rush missed so did Gash, Static used a shocking grasp on the lizard folk with Blood rush the creature was badly hurt but was still going it attacked Blood rush and only hit twice hurt Blood quite a bit but he was going strong, Gash got hit three times but not hurt much. Blood rush and the lizard folk fought but Blood didn’t do any damage but the lizardflok hit Blood twice didn’t do much to him then the other lizard folk struck Gash four times it wasn’t enough to k.o. Him and Gash fought back gave a mighty blow but it was not to its knees. Again the lizards attacked with speed and the 1st missed Blood the second missed Gash. Gash hit hard and brought the lizard to its knees. Blood static ZAPED the lizard and it was toast. There was no treasure on the lizards they preceded to a room with a grating floor; under the grating was an alcove nothing there so they went into a door next to them. In this room there was a “rock” which suddenly leaped at Blood. It looked like a spear with rabbit legs it stabbed Blood he was now badly hurt at which point they all ran. And rested for the night in the town.
Day two,
After a good nights sleep they went back in the tomb they opened the door with the “rock” in only to find it had moved it leaped at Blood again and stabbed Blood. little to Bloods knowledge he had been poisoned with the Grey Rot. Heroically Static leaped in the room and shocked the “rock” to death. Blood searched the room to find 900gp and a poison (he found this out by drinking it, it damaged him and he lost some Str, Dex, con and health.) they got out of this closet like room and went through the door opposite them when they entered a cloud of darkness appeared and 2 dark mantles came down and landed on Gash and Blood. Blood was getting constricted they all ran out of the room to where the grating was. Static tried to kill the dark mantles but he wasn’t strong enough to be able to kill them. So Gash and Blood rush died and Static retreated (ran away)
15th Ator 352 S
Day one,
Static, Blood rush and Gash went into the tomb of Neb the 1st . Neb the 1st ruled on one of the islands of the Islands of the Skull and has had three sons since. Neb the 3rd currently rules and demands that they find the treasure that is hidden there in the Tomb. So they walk down the steps of the tomb to find a T shaped corridor they went down the left way to find a corridor curving to the left with a door but they left it alone. At the end of the corridor they came to a large room with a 3’ platform in the centre then suddenly Blood rush attacked a lizard folk Gash attacked the lizard folk next to Blood rush. But Blood rush missed so did Gash, Static used a shocking grasp on the lizard folk with Blood rush the creature was badly hurt but was still going it attacked Blood rush and only hit twice hurt Blood quite a bit but he was going strong, Gash got hit three times but not hurt much. Blood rush and the lizard folk fought but Blood didn’t do any damage but the lizardflok hit Blood twice didn’t do much to him then the other lizard folk struck Gash four times it wasn’t enough to k.o. Him and Gash fought back gave a mighty blow but it was not to its knees. Again the lizards attacked with speed and the 1st missed Blood the second missed Gash. Gash hit hard and brought the lizard to its knees. Blood static ZAPED the lizard and it was toast. There was no treasure on the lizards they preceded to a room with a grating floor; under the grating was an alcove nothing there so they went into a door next to them. In this room there was a “rock” which suddenly leaped at Blood. It looked like a spear with rabbit legs it stabbed Blood he was now badly hurt at which point they all ran. And rested for the night in the town.
Day two,
After a good nights sleep they went back in the tomb they opened the door with the “rock” in only to find it had moved it leaped at Blood again and stabbed Blood. little to Bloods knowledge he had been poisoned with the Grey Rot. Heroically Static leaped in the room and shocked the “rock” to death. Blood searched the room to find 900gp and a poison (he found this out by drinking it, it damaged him and he lost some Str, Dex, con and health.) they got out of this closet like room and went through the door opposite them when they entered a cloud of darkness appeared and 2 dark mantles came down and landed on Gash and Blood. Blood was getting constricted they all ran out of the room to where the grating was. Static tried to kill the dark mantles but he wasn’t strong enough to be able to kill them. So Gash and Blood rush died and Static retreated (ran away)
Thursday, 4 December 2008
Horror in the North Tower
10th Ator, 352AS, Kularni
It was the dark of the moon in the month of Ator when Fluff and Smily’s assigned guard duty came round. They were joined by Whistler and two unnamed guards who wore red leather armour.
The tower was part of the Kularni town wall, but obviously was much older than the rest of the town.. A request from Whistler to take his horse with him had been turned down, but it was obvious that the ground floor was a stables of some kind. Climbing up to the next floor, they found a fireplace and some sleeping mats (sacks of straw). There was no firewood. A locked door was investigated but there was no way of opening it. They surmised it led to the top of the tower. A guard rota was drawn up and they settled down for the night.
Fluff awoke to feel icy claws at his throat and a hideous face leering over him, its jaws gaping. He rolled over and stood, yelling an alarm and grabbing his sword. Over on one side he saw the body of one of the guards, torn into several pieces. Another of the creatures stood there. A third leapt out of the shadows at Whistler and raked him with a claw; Whistler felt a burning sensation from the claws passing. He pulled his sword and stood, as did Smily and the other guard. “Ghouls”, the guard screamed, “may Vardu protect us”.
Fluff was clawed badly; he felt a horrible burning sensation spread from the wounds, freezing his muscles in vicious cramp-like spasms. Smily and a ghoul faced off, the ghoul missed but Smily’s sword bit deep. Whistler and the guard leapt forward to attack; Whistler struck a mighty blow and decapitated the ghoul that was about to feast on the paralysed body of Fluff. “Do these things stay dead?”, he yelled to the guard. But there was no answer; the guard lay in two pieces on the floor.
A desperate battle then ensued to stop the ghouls getting to Fluff, who was taking damage but was helpless to prevent it. Finally, Fluff collapsed, bleeding badly; Smily took out one of the ghouls but Whistler was bitten and paralysed by the other. Now it was down to Smily, who faced off against the ghoul. A superb blow, well hit, cleaved the ghoul in two.
Aftermath
Fluff and Whistler recovered from the paralysis, but Fluff was badly injured (below 0 hp!). The picked him up and pegged it from the tower. They couldn’t get out of the town as the gates were locked; but they managed to sleep at Janis’s.
(BJ’s note: The combat was played out in full by Ben and I. It really did go down to the wire; If Smily had failed to kill the last ghoul and it had got him………
All xp awards will be made at start of next session)
Edit: 19.12.08: The changes made to the way that hit points are now calculated means that Fluff got a little bit less hurt. He was still KO'd though.
It was the dark of the moon in the month of Ator when Fluff and Smily’s assigned guard duty came round. They were joined by Whistler and two unnamed guards who wore red leather armour.
The tower was part of the Kularni town wall, but obviously was much older than the rest of the town.. A request from Whistler to take his horse with him had been turned down, but it was obvious that the ground floor was a stables of some kind. Climbing up to the next floor, they found a fireplace and some sleeping mats (sacks of straw). There was no firewood. A locked door was investigated but there was no way of opening it. They surmised it led to the top of the tower. A guard rota was drawn up and they settled down for the night.
Fluff awoke to feel icy claws at his throat and a hideous face leering over him, its jaws gaping. He rolled over and stood, yelling an alarm and grabbing his sword. Over on one side he saw the body of one of the guards, torn into several pieces. Another of the creatures stood there. A third leapt out of the shadows at Whistler and raked him with a claw; Whistler felt a burning sensation from the claws passing. He pulled his sword and stood, as did Smily and the other guard. “Ghouls”, the guard screamed, “may Vardu protect us”.
Fluff was clawed badly; he felt a horrible burning sensation spread from the wounds, freezing his muscles in vicious cramp-like spasms. Smily and a ghoul faced off, the ghoul missed but Smily’s sword bit deep. Whistler and the guard leapt forward to attack; Whistler struck a mighty blow and decapitated the ghoul that was about to feast on the paralysed body of Fluff. “Do these things stay dead?”, he yelled to the guard. But there was no answer; the guard lay in two pieces on the floor.
A desperate battle then ensued to stop the ghouls getting to Fluff, who was taking damage but was helpless to prevent it. Finally, Fluff collapsed, bleeding badly; Smily took out one of the ghouls but Whistler was bitten and paralysed by the other. Now it was down to Smily, who faced off against the ghoul. A superb blow, well hit, cleaved the ghoul in two.
Aftermath
Fluff and Whistler recovered from the paralysis, but Fluff was badly injured (below 0 hp!). The picked him up and pegged it from the tower. They couldn’t get out of the town as the gates were locked; but they managed to sleep at Janis’s.
(BJ’s note: The combat was played out in full by Ben and I. It really did go down to the wire; If Smily had failed to kill the last ghoul and it had got him………
All xp awards will be made at start of next session)
Edit: 19.12.08: The changes made to the way that hit points are now calculated means that Fluff got a little bit less hurt. He was still KO'd though.
Lianne, my Journal (1)
I woke, cold and confused. Why was I so cold, and rocking up and down? It slowly dawned on me; I was in the sea, clinging to a large piece of driftwood.. Ahead, against the skyline; I saw land; then the darkness took me again.
I woke on a shingle beach, with the sun rising. Some people were approaching, asking if I was alright. They spoke Manori, but with a strange dialect. They took me to the town, the man escorting me said he was the town mayor and that I was their guest. “Good”, I thought, “as I don’t have any money”. He asked who I was, I told him I was Lianne, of the Arkann tribe. He had never heard of my tribe; I told him of the lands to the north and the great ruined cities, now under a shroud of fear. He appeared never to have heard of them. He asked how I had got here; born with a wanderlust, I left the tribe and headed east. Travelling through the Pass of Noose, I wandered through the kingdom of Arcona until I ended up at Port Gethan. I took passage on a ship. I was asleep on the deck when a sound of cracking timbers jerked me awake. A tremendous shock struck the ship and I was hurled into the water. I grabbed a piece of floating wood, looking back I saw the ship breaking up. Something struck me on the head and I awoke on the beach.
The man shook his head slowly. “Dangerous things swim in these waters. The crew must not have known where they were”.
“So where am I?”
“The Islands of the Skull”, replied the mayor
I thought about this for a while, but then brightened up. “I have no coin to repay your hospitality. Tell me, are there adventures to be had round here?”
“Yes, but there is much danger. There are creatures in the lands around here, and the Kobolds demand a monthly tribute of 100 gold.”
“Tribute? You pay tribute to Kobolds!”
“These are not the Kobolds you are used to.”
He told me of a dungeon not far from the town, I asked if anyone would care to accompany me, but they all refused. “So, all of you big strong men are going to let a girl go it alone?”
“We tried to stand up to them once, but were defeated.”
“Ah, but I wasn’t with you then”.
I searched out the town store and negotiated the loan of some torches, flint and steel, a backpack and a comb (I’ve been in the water for hours, my hair’s an absolute mess). I checked my armour (studded leather) and my two-hand sword and knife; then set off into the forest. After some walking, I spied a clearing with steps leading down. Lighting a torch, I headed down. An empty hall with three doors, the left one eventually led to a room with some cells, two Kobolds and a shrieking baboon in a cage. One Kobold pulled a lever hanging from the ceiling and the cells opened to let loose four ravening jackals. I jammed the torch into a crack in the wall and, with the old ‘Scream and Leap’, waded into the jackals. Some time later, the jackals were all dead, but I had been badly bitten and a lucky blow from a Kobold knocked me out. I awoke in one of the cells; my sword was gone but I still had my knife.
…. To be continued
I woke on a shingle beach, with the sun rising. Some people were approaching, asking if I was alright. They spoke Manori, but with a strange dialect. They took me to the town, the man escorting me said he was the town mayor and that I was their guest. “Good”, I thought, “as I don’t have any money”. He asked who I was, I told him I was Lianne, of the Arkann tribe. He had never heard of my tribe; I told him of the lands to the north and the great ruined cities, now under a shroud of fear. He appeared never to have heard of them. He asked how I had got here; born with a wanderlust, I left the tribe and headed east. Travelling through the Pass of Noose, I wandered through the kingdom of Arcona until I ended up at Port Gethan. I took passage on a ship. I was asleep on the deck when a sound of cracking timbers jerked me awake. A tremendous shock struck the ship and I was hurled into the water. I grabbed a piece of floating wood, looking back I saw the ship breaking up. Something struck me on the head and I awoke on the beach.
The man shook his head slowly. “Dangerous things swim in these waters. The crew must not have known where they were”.
“So where am I?”
“The Islands of the Skull”, replied the mayor
I thought about this for a while, but then brightened up. “I have no coin to repay your hospitality. Tell me, are there adventures to be had round here?”
“Yes, but there is much danger. There are creatures in the lands around here, and the Kobolds demand a monthly tribute of 100 gold.”
“Tribute? You pay tribute to Kobolds!”
“These are not the Kobolds you are used to.”
He told me of a dungeon not far from the town, I asked if anyone would care to accompany me, but they all refused. “So, all of you big strong men are going to let a girl go it alone?”
“We tried to stand up to them once, but were defeated.”
“Ah, but I wasn’t with you then”.
I searched out the town store and negotiated the loan of some torches, flint and steel, a backpack and a comb (I’ve been in the water for hours, my hair’s an absolute mess). I checked my armour (studded leather) and my two-hand sword and knife; then set off into the forest. After some walking, I spied a clearing with steps leading down. Lighting a torch, I headed down. An empty hall with three doors, the left one eventually led to a room with some cells, two Kobolds and a shrieking baboon in a cage. One Kobold pulled a lever hanging from the ceiling and the cells opened to let loose four ravening jackals. I jammed the torch into a crack in the wall and, with the old ‘Scream and Leap’, waded into the jackals. Some time later, the jackals were all dead, but I had been badly bitten and a lucky blow from a Kobold knocked me out. I awoke in one of the cells; my sword was gone but I still had my knife.
…. To be continued
Wednesday, 3 December 2008
The Known World – Revisited
I’ve done a lot more work on the background history of Krorthar, departing and expanding from what I said earlier. A rough history is essential; else how can an item be legendary?
Kularni is a walled town north of the Waste of Rocks. A jumping-off point for adventurers exploring the remnants of the Bright Empire, West are the forbidding Drakon Peaks; east is the road past the False Forest to the Dead Kingdom; north leads through the hills to Ironhold and south leads through the Waste to the Great Kingdom. The Duke of Kularni is a vassal of the Great King.
Ben has created his own part of the Known World. Off the South-east coast; the Islands of the Skull are shrouded in mystery.
Kularni is a walled town north of the Waste of Rocks. A jumping-off point for adventurers exploring the remnants of the Bright Empire, West are the forbidding Drakon Peaks; east is the road past the False Forest to the Dead Kingdom; north leads through the hills to Ironhold and south leads through the Waste to the Great Kingdom. The Duke of Kularni is a vassal of the Great King.
Ben has created his own part of the Known World. Off the South-east coast; the Islands of the Skull are shrouded in mystery.
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