Chapter 9: Abyss of the Xenomorphs

[Inferno]

Engine Earring, The Castle U.S.S. Enterprise
The Barren Wasteland, Forbidden Island of Xygax the Wizard, Land of One Thousand Towers
Day Five. Night? March 29th, 912 CY








In the demon maze of the ship's dungeon, an ebon fiend rips and slices Connak and Yul in its unrelenting attack!
(6hp and 5hp damage respectively!)



The catman crashes to the ground in a growing pool of his own blood!

The black monstrosity turns to face Yul and seemingly smiles at him, revealing a ghastly second mouth within its deadly jaws!



The sheriff's sword betrays him.

Behind the fearsome terror, Maskelyn drags Connak clear. Miraculously, Adrock's magic wand heals the catman of his nigh-fatal wounds! (+6hp) Connak wakes up on his back, bewildered!

Elsewhere in the resin labyrinth, Ko-nan the barbarian cleaves his daemonic foe asunder! (A5) The feral horror falls in a deluge of liquid fire!



(Ko-Nan, please make an Ability Check vs Dex on 1d20 to evade 5hp damage from acid!)

Fiefo races away, leaping over Connak to join the other fray!


Actions?!


Map:

One square = 5 feet. Lighter areas are visible. All else is from memory. X = Dead.

Behind the DM Screen:

Initiative: Party: [1d6]=3, Monsters: [1d6]=5 Monsters win.
Fiefo: Dex save: [1d20]=7 Avoids acid damage from last round's attack.
A5 attacks Fiefo and Ko-nan: [1d20]=9, [1d20]=10, damage: [1d6]=6, [1d6]=5 Both attacks miss.
A4 attacks Connak and Yul: [1d20]=19, [1d20]=14, damage: [1d6]=6, [1d6]=5 Both attacks hit.
Wand of Healing: Connak: [1d8]=6
Fiefo's already charged. Cannot move and attack this round.

PC Status:

Connak: Cat-Man Fighter/Thief 2/3: Move: 9", AC: 6, HP: 4/19
Fiefo LeBratt: Rat-Man Fighter 3: Move: 9", AC: 1, HP: 23/26
Ko-Nan: Human Barbarian 2: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 11/32
L.L. Adrock: Half-Elf Cleric/Magic-User 2/2: Move: 9", AC: 1, HP: 9/9, Spells: 0/6 1st lvl, Lantern
Maskelyn: Gnome Illusionist 3: Move: 9", AC: 7, HP: 10/14, Spells: 0/2 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl
Sheriff Yul: Robot Fighter 3: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 4/38

PC Magic:

None currently

Player Resources:

End of the World (game description)
Strange New World (maps and realms)
Memory Tapes (the story so far)
Viewscreen (the story so far in images)

[redwarrior]

Connak climbs unsteadily to his feet. Looking at the remaining monster, he will draw his bow and knock an arrow.

I'm assuming no attack this round.

[ravenn4544]

Ko-Nan dodges the acid blood easily as the thing explodes in gore. He clutches his fearsome axe and scans the darkness for more Filth.

Dex (14) [1d20]=1

[Urson]

Maskelyn
Maskelyn nods at the Cat man, his usual sass absent. Glad you're OK, friend.

[redwarrior]

Maskelyn
Maskelyn nods at the Cat man, his usual sass absent. Glad you're OK, friend.

Connak nods his thanks OK may overstate it a bit, but I am better than dead! Whatever you did, I thank you.

[Bluetongue]

Sheriff Yul

Quick draws his enhanced hand held crossbow and fires at close range into the multi toothed maw of the alien

Sheriff Yul. Handheld crossbow [1d20+3]=7+3=10 damage [1d6+2]=2+2=4

While he tries to dodge any melee by retreating a few steps around the circular block on his left.

[ChubbyPixie]

Fiefo lashes at the remaining bug man, catching him with a single tine of his fork:

Attack with Fauchard Fork (THAC0 18): To Hit: [1d20+1]=20+1=21 Damage vs. s/M: [1d8]=1, vs. L: [1d10]=9

In a bizarre glitch, my character sheet reset itself while I was updating hit points. When it came back all of Fiefo's Character info had been erased. (!) I was able to fill most of it back in no problem due to the handy summaries at the bottom of your posts, Inferno, but I have no idea what his current EXP count is...

[Urson]

Maskelyn
'Twern't nothin- I just dragged you out of the fight so you din't get stepped on...

[Inferno]

Engine Earring, The Castle U.S.S. Enterprise
The Barren Wasteland, Forbidden Island of Xygax the Wizard, Land of One Thousand Towers
Day Five. Night? March 29th, 912 CY








In the dank bowels of the god-ship, the last black devil alive wheels at the sound of Fiefo's approach! Razor-sharp claws seek his vitals, working to disembowel the ratman with its bare hands! (6hp damage)



In one swift motion, Yul quickdraws his crossbow, steps back and fires an iron bolt into the monster's back at point blank range! The horrific terror screeches in hateful rage! (No Ability Check needed to avoid blood from ranged weapon)

Wounded, Fiefo fights through the pain and impales the last ebon nightmare in its hideous bulbous skull, killing it instantly in a ghastly spray of ochre! (Fiefo, please make an Ability Check vs Dex on 1d20 to evade 4hp damage from acid blood!)

The attack is over, for now.

Maskelyn helps Connak stagger to his feet as Adrock whispers, "The thrill is gone... My magic is spent. I still have the McCoy's Wand of Healing, but few gems remain to power it. Fiefo, what of the alchemy you found in the Dalek laboratory of the mad wizard's skyscraper?"

Ko-Nan stands stock still in the demon-maze, unconsciously holding his breath. The silence seems absolute. No further horrors lunge from the shadows, yet.


Actions?!


Map:

One square = 5 feet. Lighter areas are visible. All else is from memory. X = Dead.

Behind the DM Screen:

Initiative: Party: [1d6]=1 Monsters: [1d6]=4 Monsters win.
A4 attacks Fiefo: [1d20]=5, [1d20]=17, [1d20]=16 One claw and one bite hits.
Damage to Fiefo: [2d6]=6

PC Status:

Connak: Cat-Man Fighter/Thief 2/3: Move: 9", AC: 6, HP: 4/19
Fiefo LeBratt: Rat-Man Fighter 3: Move: 9", AC: 1, HP: 17/26
Ko-Nan: Human Barbarian 2: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 11/32
L.L. Adrock: Half-Elf Cleric/Magic-User 2/2: Move: 9", AC: 1, HP: 9/9, Spells: 0/6 1st lvl, Lantern
Maskelyn: Gnome Illusionist 3: Move: 9", AC: 7, HP: 10/14, Spells: 0/2 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl
Sheriff Yul: Robot Fighter 3: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 4/38

PC Magic:

None currently

Player Resources:

End of the World (game description)
Strange New World (maps and realms)
Memory Tapes (the story so far)
Viewscreen (the story so far in images)

[redwarrior]

Connak Before more of them come, let's end these remaining incubators! So saying, and not wanting to be splashed by more burning blood, he takes deliberate aim at the remaining hosts with his composite bow from several yards away.

Composite bow THACO 19 [1d20+1]=11+1=12 Damage [1d6+3]=4+3=7
Composite bow THACO 19 [1d20+1]=12+1=13 Damage [1d6+3]=1+3=4

[ravenn4544]

Ko-Nan nods. "Finish them. Let us find a place to defend and rest. We must be prepared for another attack such as this"

[Bluetongue]

Sheriff Yul

Turns over the alien with his sword to get a view of the genetic makeup of the alien. He is intrigued by the acidic blood and why it does not melt the alien from the inside out?

We could do with a coroner with asbestos fingers to perform an autopsy upon the creatures. He will drag the alien body and conduct his own thesis of no one else has such a skill. He figures because he has a cyborg component to his 'life' it may help him understand the mechanism of the strange biology which allows the aliens to live with such a strange toxic blood flowing through them. A bit of knowledge might offer some extra insight into alien weak points.

"I found this device upon the first surrogate we found. Is it a weapon or trinket?" He shows the relic he picked up earlier.

[ChubbyPixie]

Maskelyn helps Connak stagger to his feet as Adrock whispers, "The thrill is gone... My magic is spent. I still have the McCoy's Wand of Healing, but few gems remain to power it. Fiefo, what of the alchemy you found in the Dalek laboratory of the mad wizard's skyscraper?"

Fiefo's mind flashes back to his horrific death in the tower, then quickly veers away. It seems, and is literally, a lifetime ago. He pats himself down, then looks back at Maskelyn and shrugs.

Those potions aren't on my character sheet anymore? I don't remember for sure, but I may have removed them when we all died in the tower and were reconstituted?

[Urson]

Maskelyn

Don't look at me, Doc. All I kept from the Wizard's tower was this. He spreads his fingers, so that the metal mesh of his enhancement sparkles in the light.

[Bluetongue]

Sheriff Yul

If a room is close by he will drag the alien by its feet there to conduct an autopsy but if no safe spot is suitable he will check over an alien corpse trying to understand how the acid blood does not burn the creature itself.

The answers to the questions he muses over may be beyond his comprehension though.

Sheriff Yul intelligence check vs 9 [1d20]=14

[Inferno]

Engine Earring, The Castle U.S.S. Enterprise
The Barren Wasteland, Forbidden Island of Xygax the Wizard, Land of One Thousand Towers
Day Five. Night? March 29th, 912 CY








In the monsters' labyrinth, all is eerily quiet.

Connak grimly kills two more lifeless, unwilling hosts before their heinous parasites are born.

Yul the crossbow-fighter examines a monstrous corpse, mystified. Then he shows the others a puzzling artifact he discovered.



Fiefo pats his pockets and finds three mysterious elixirs from the bizarre alchemist laboratory.

Adrock expends all the sorcery crystals of the strange magic wand of the celestial shaman...



...to heal Connak, Ko-Nan and Yul. (+3hp, +2hp, +9hp)

With bleak realization, the adventurers know they face a terrible choice. They are in an enemy camp. Most creatures will fight to the death to defend their young. This vile hatchery would be an area of critical importance to the demons. Security will be paramount. More of the feral horrors will come soon and The McCoy said they are many. If the party would invade Engine Earring in their search for The Kirk, time was now against them. They must push ahead before their invasion is discovered and a defense raised. Or else they must retreat, knowing that when they return their incursion would have been detected and this area triply guarded!

A terrible choice indeed.


Actions?!


Map:

One square = 5 feet. Lighter areas are visible. All else is from memory. X = Dead.

Behind the DM Screen:

After using the wand several times, Adrock understands it better. (Now heals 2d8)Adrock heals Connak, Ko-Nan and Yul: [2d8]=3, [2d8]=2, [2d8]=9

PC Status:

Connak: Cat-Man Fighter/Thief 2/3: Move: 9", AC: 6, HP: 7/19
Fiefo LeBratt: Rat-Man Fighter 3: Move: 9", AC: 1, HP: 17/26
Ko-Nan: Human Barbarian 2: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 13/32
L.L. Adrock: Half-Elf Cleric/Magic-User 2/2: Move: 9", AC: 1, HP: 9/9, Spells: 0/6 1st lvl, Lantern
Maskelyn: Gnome Illusionist 3: Move: 9", AC: 7, HP: 10/14, Spells: 0/2 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl
Sheriff Yul: Robot Fighter 3: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 13/38

PC Magic:

None currently

Player Resources:

End of the World (game description)
Strange New World (maps and realms)
Memory Tapes (the story so far)
Viewscreen (the story so far in images)

[redwarrior]

Connak thanks Adrock for whatever wizardry he used, and feeling much sturdier than he did a few minutes ago. He is going to continue to keep an arrow out and ready to nock, and will follow on with the main party.

[ravenn4544]

Ko-Nan seeing little choice will continue along the wall south.

[Urson]

Maskelyn
We might as well keep on- things will just be worse if we wait. Maskelyn isn't foolish enough to lead, but will stick with the group.

[ChubbyPixie]

Fiefo is surprised to indeed find on his person the three potions from he tower that he had all but forgotten: blue, purple and green. He pulls them out and fans them out, displaying them to the group as they press on.

"We drank a pink one before, and surprisingly it didn't kill anyone," he says. "I dunno what these do, though. Anyone really desperate?"