Mission#8: Witches, Julia, & Kindle Too.

[Rex]

Mac

Mac listens for a response from Joker's shout.

[Bluehorse]

The Church of the Living God
Looking for the Secretary
September 18, 2018 2:40pm
Dark, Musty, Cold, Sticky.

The team moves inside finding they have left flashlights........... somewhere else. Seriously, that is some stupid bad luck on the rolls. I really thought the odds would give you a light or two. Sheesh! Mac and Lionel draw their proton wands and activate the small but bright flashlights on the ends and are able to shine them about. The back kitchen area looks like it was well built for the time... 1920s or 30s-ish and has been updated a time or two, but certainly been in disuse for what would easily be a decade or two. The dust is... oppressive. The air feels thick with mildew and pure darkness making it hard to breathe. Soggy cobwebs hang and cling to every surface and dust and spores hang in the air. As you look at what was once a nice red carpet on the floor, you can see that you are leaving clear, deep footprints in the... it is mostly dust... on the floor, but as you disturb the years of settled debris it stirs into the air more like silt in an otherwise clear stream of water than air giving the entire environment of what should be a homely church kitchen an ethereal otherworldly feel.

Everyone roll me hard muscles against having a coughing fit. This air is nasty! you need >20 to pass, otherwise, you are going to have to make a choice to either retreat back outside for fresh air, or you can roll a second time to try to power through it, with an additional roll for damage of 10d6. A successful roll means you take half damage from the coughing fit, a failure means full damage.

The team does notice a door on the south wall leading deeper into the church.

Inventory:

Ecto: 1 Proton Pack, PKE Extention, Ecto Goggles - M, 1 Slime Blower, 1 Sniffer
======================================================================
Lionel: Ecto Keys, Phone, Proton Pack
Roy: Phone, Proton Pack, Trap, Ecto Goggles - M
Joker: Phone w/PKE Extention, Trap, Julia's Phone
Mac: Phone, Proton Pack, Ecto Goggle - A.

New Brownie Point Pool:
Lionel 'Freight Train' Williams: 289/289 @
Roy O'Dowd: 426/426 @@
David "Mac" McAuslan: 345/345
Dzjokar "Joker" Jelal: 569/569

@ = One free re-roll without ghost die.  Merry Christmas 2019 & 2020!
[/quote]

[Rex]

Mac

Muscles +4 BP [8d6]=23

Mac covers his mouth and nose with his bandana, "Lets get out of this room ASAP."

He moves to head through the doorway into the next room to clear the way for the others.

[Urson]

Joker
Muscle: 2
[1d6]=1 ghost [1d6]=1
well, this is awkward...
[2d6]=7 ghost [1d6]=4

Joker will attempt to force his way toward the south.

[Rex]

Mac

Forgot my ghost die.

Ghost die [1d6]=1

[GreyWolfVT]

Muscle: [3d6]=12 G:[1d6]=2 + 3BP [3d6]=8

Roy covers his nose and mouth with a handkerchief and moves out of the super musty dusty room heading for the next room.

[Scott308]

Lionel "Freight Train" Williams

Lionel tries to hold his breath and get through the door to the south.

3 BP: [3d6]=13
Muscle: [4d6]=11; Ghost Die: [1d6]=1
Oh, nooooo! Another 1 on the ghost die!

[Bluehorse]

The Church of the Living God
Looking for the Secretary
September 18, 2018 2:45pm
Dark, Musty, Cold, Sticky.

I have no words for the way that just went with the ghost dice all around. Just... Wow... I swear I am not trying to kill anyone! LOL!

The team quickly realizes that the air in the highly neglected room is toxic with spores and dust. Mac, Roy, & Lionel manage to work through the horrible mix, but only Roy makes it through without a hitch...

Mac, though unphased by inhaling the dirty air itself, but in his hurry he knocks over a coffee can from the counter, which clatters loudly to the ground while stirring up more dust from the counter. The dust on from the counter whirls up into Lioenl's face, getting into his eyes and effectively blinding him roll 1d6 v muscle and we will see how long it last. No brownie points here. Basically a save roll.

Then poor Joker comes running after the three others, he is already coughing and suffering from the dust and spores...
[10d6]=29 Damage from Coughing.
Despite that he continues trying to push through towards the doors but...
Luck is cruel and he trips over the coffee can on the floor and falls through the door, face-planting in a puff of thick smokey debris that follows them in through the door.
[2d6]=7 Fall Damage

Total damage = 36bp

Same as Lionel, roll 1d6 v muscle and we will see how long the coughing fit last. You're effectively stunned between that and the fall. No brownie points here. Basically a save roll.

The team does make it through the door though Joker is only technically halfway across the threshold.

What the team sees (at least those not blinded or face-planted) is what Joker saw during his earlier visit. The once simple but nicely decorated interior of the sanctuary of the Church of the Living God, but now run down with disrepair and neglect from the decades that have allowed it to decay into near ruin, but with these additions. Father Belmont is at the pulpit, hands in the air as if he were interrupted mid-sermon, looking over with confusion as well as disgust at you all as you barge in, there is an old man of equal age who looks like little more than a walking skeleton at the piano that still rings slightly from sour notes, long out of tune. Two more sit in a pew directly in front of you off the alter area...

Pichb6IJA1.jpg (40.34 KiB) Viewed 1082 times

And immediately to your left is the ominous source of what you suddenly feel like is gravity increasing upon you all in a physical force, starting like the smotting of a hammer but never letting up. The Rood. The twisted fire-branded wood of the old cross seems to pulse before you, you are mere feet away from it. You can smell the scent of burning wood mingled with the offputting tinge of rotten eggs, and hear the crackle and pop of a fire deep inside of it. The edges even seem to glow as if ancient embers were mere seconds away from reigniting again.

Everyone takes 20bp damage right off when the pressure in the air hits. This is Kindle's first attack on your psyche and you were caught flat-footed so to speak.

I then need everyone to roll for me. This is HARD for either Muscules to physically pull yourself away, or Brains to mentally/spiritually resist what is going on.

Success means you only take the initial damage and can declare your actions from there as well as roll Moves to get some initiative going.

Failure means you are going to take another [10d6] damage and be stunned another round. You can try again at the bottom of the round to break free.

Something else. Everyone manages to see, even those impaired at the moment, that Julia is kneeling at the foot of the Rood and appears to be praying and looks in bad shape like she could collapse at any moment. She looks sickly and pale, her color is way off, and worse of all she seems oblivious to what is happening in the room around her despite all the commotion you just created.

CotLG-4.jpg (66.03 KiB) Viewed 1082 times

Inventory:

Ecto: 1 Proton Pack, PKE Extention, Ecto Goggles - M, 1 Slime Blower, 1 Sniffer
======================================================================
Lionel: Ecto Keys, Phone, Proton Pack
Roy: Phone, Proton Pack, Trap, Ecto Goggles - M
Joker: Phone w/PKE Extention, Trap, Julia's Phone
Mac: Phone, Proton Pack, Ecto Goggle - A.

Brownie Point Spending & Loss:
Lionel: -3 to Rolls, -20 Psyche Damage = -23bp
Roy: -3 to Rolls, -20 Psyche Damage = -23bp
Mac: -4 to Rolls, -20 Psyche Damage = -24bp
Joker: -1 to Rolls, -36 to Damage, -20 Psyche Damage =-57bp

So, Good News Bad News. First I will just state the obvious. This is a boss fight. Queue up Duel of the Fates or something like that. This is going to get serious. The Bad News, You can see I am going to pull no punches. You are fighting a FREAKING DEMON and his followers. I have no idea what will happen but I have a strict set of rules on my end that I am going to go by to hold myself accountable. There is a lot of "if this then this" type actions, and you chose to go it alone. The Good news? Look at your Brownie Point Pools. You are all at a point that you can afford to take a bit of a whooping. This might be the day we stretch that ability, but in the words of Rob Schneider, "You can do it!"

I just want to assure you that though the demon might not fight fair I am doing what I can as your GM to manage this fairly with that in mind on my end. Please keep in mind that you still have some unused free re-rolls. This might be the scene to use them.

I mean this honestly and not to be condescending in any way. Good luck.

Brownie Point Pool:
Lionel 'Freight Train' Williams: 266/289 @
Roy O'Dowd: 403/426 @@
David "Mac" McAuslan: 321/345
Dzjokar "Joker" Jelal: 512/569

@ = One free re-roll without ghost die.  Merry Christmas 2019 & 2020!

[Rex]

Mac

Save vs Muscles (4) [1d6]=4
I think that makes it.

Muscles to resist Demon -4 +6bp [10d6-4]=34-4=30 Ghost Die [1d6]=4

Once he can see Julia Mac's white knight complex (weakness) kicks in and he charges towards Julia. Plan is to scoop her up and get her away from the Rood.

[GreyWolfVT]

Roy

Save vs Muscles [1d6]=5 got confused but I don't think I needed this roll
Muscle: [3d6]=4 G:[1d6]=6 + 1BP [1d6]=6

I've no idea so that's just what I rolled

[Bluehorse]

Save vs Muscles (4) [1d6]=4
I think that makes it.

Okay, that is on me for not explaining, but yes, Rex here has the right idea. You want to Meet of roll Less Than your stat to beat our the Demon's influence over you to make the save. So the higher your stat, the higher your ability to power through it one way or another. Since Mac has 4 in Muscles, and rolled a 4, he matched Kindle. Tie goes to the defender, so Mac wins the save throw. This means that later when I post he will definitely be able to act on his next posted action which is all the more appropriate since he is acting on his weakness to White Knight for women. Good job Rex!

Roy, I will double-check yours here in a bit, but unless your Muscles is 5, you are still under pressure from Kindle's surprise attack. The second roll is a good roll, but not really valid here since you are effectively stunned for a round if you failed, which means you are going to take an additional 10d6 damage.

[Scott308]

Lionel "Freight Train" Williams

Lionel manages to stumble through the doorway, desperately trying to wipe the dust from his face.

Save v Dust (Muscle 5): [1d6]=4
Save v Kindle (Muscle 5): [1d6]=2

[Urson]

Joker
(faceplant) Muscle:2 [1d6]=6

(Resistance) Brains:5 [1d6]=3

IF Joker can react, he'll be struggling to his feet.

Despite having not been in a mosque in at least a decade, Joker finds himself trying to remember the prayers. It quickly devolves into a simple thought of Allah, help!

[Bluehorse]

The Church of the Living God
Looking for the Secretary
September 18, 2018 2:50pm
Dark, Musty, Cold, Sticky.

Mac, perhaps spurred on by what would usually be his weakness seeing a woman in danger, feels a shot of adrenaline and powers through the pressure weighing on him from the cross and breaks through to move towards Julia and scoop her up protectively. He can see she is messed up. Her eyes are out of focus and she seems sickly.

Roy doesn't fair as well and cannot get out from the demon's influence and feels the full weight of his attack.
Kindle Attack [10d6]=34

Lionel's able to get the dust and debris cleared from his face despite the surprise attack from the demon, and even more surprising is able to power through the pressure pushing down on him and bear crawl forward like he has through so many 2 a day drills over the years until he breaks through and finds himself face to face with Father Belmont at the pulpit.

Joker physically takes a beating from his fall and is still suffering from the spore-heavy air from the previous room, Since your Muscle was 2 and your rolled 6 that is 4 over. I am going to say that is 2 rounds of acting with a penalty or 1 full round of stunned to "clear it out" of your system, your choice. A penalty will mean your rolls are only 50% effective. Whether it is his prayer to Allah or just raw mental power, he is able to shake off Kindle though and feels the pressure lift away from him, allowing him that measure of relief in that moment as the chaos erupts around the team in the sanctuary of the dilapidated church.

Initiative:

Kindle Int [4d6]=16 F.Bel [2d6]=7 OldMan1 [1d6]=5
OldMan2 [1d6]=5 OldMan3 [1d6]=3 OldMan3 [1d6]=6
Lionel [4d6]=20 Roy [3d6]=12 Mac [4d6]=13 Joker [2d6]=5

Lionel
Kindle
Mac
Roy Stunned this round but this is where you will fall starting next round pending any demonic foolishness.
Father Belmont
Joker Stunned or penalized but this will be your order once you take action
OldMan1
OldMan2
OldMan3

Just realized I put Old Man 3 in there twice by accident, so the second time, which is the 6, is null.

Kindle still has not manifested himself fully it seems, rather the rood itself seems to snap and pop with internal embers. Mac in his concern for Julia has left his back exposed to the Rood where the demon is contained and...

Kindle Attack [10d6]=44

He feels a crippling wave of both physical pressure as well as emotional guilt hit him without warning. Something reaches deep inside him and finds what he has been harboring for years and pulls it up by the roots, forcing him to relive it in vivid horrific detail all over again.

Father Belmont looks at Lionel with contempt after his initial surprise is shaken off. BLASPHEMY! HOW DARE YOU BARGE IN ON THE HOUSE OF THE LORD! He lists what appears to be an ancient but long ruined tomb of text and brings it across your face. You feel the impact, sure, but there is something more to it, something unnatural when it hits you fueled by something far greater than what the old man should be able to muster on his own as pain crackles through your cheek like lightning, catching you off guard!

Belmont Unholy Word [10d6]=29

Can't believe these guys basically just rolled in order. Couple of old sticklers for sure!
OldMan1 turns from the piano to see the chaos ensuing and gets an odd look in his eyes before turning back to the piano and striking a chore. The sound is terrible and the room is filled with literal discord that rattles the team right down to their bones as the weasy old man begins singing what can only be described as the mockery of a hyme in praise of the Rood.

Discord [5d6]=19
This is effectively an area attack. Everyone takes damage from this. You will need to roll vs. your brains to resist it. If you do, you will take half-damage rounded down, so 9, if not, you will take the full 19. This will happen every round until you can stop him playing, and ever round he can roll for potentially more or less damage.

OldMan2 jumps up with supernatural speed for his age and moves forward to attack
1=Joker, 2=Roy because I like Alphabetical order.
[1d2]=1

Poor Joker who is down. The near skeletal-looking old man leaps upon the Turk and begins waling on him with wreckless abandon, seemingly fueled by otherworldly power and zealotry!
Old Man [5d6]=13

OldMan3 Has a front row seat to Mac directly interferring with their service. Just as Mac is hit with the attack from Kindle, he sees the old man literally contort and begin to foam at the mouth before he leaps forward and begins to wrestle with him for control of Julia.

OldMan Muscle [3d6]=10
Your muscle vs 10 apparently! Go for it!

Inventory:

Ecto: 1 Proton Pack, PKE Extention, Ecto Goggles - M, 1 Slime Blower, 1 Sniffer
======================================================================
Lionel: Ecto Keys, Phone, Proton Pack
Roy: Phone, Proton Pack, Trap, Ecto Goggles - M
Joker: Phone w/PKE Extention, Trap, Julia's Phone
Mac: Phone, Proton Pack, Ecto Goggle - A., A Secretary

Brownie Point Spending & Loss:
Lionel: -29 Psyche Damage = -29bp
Roy: -34 Psyche Damage = -34bp
Mac: -6 to Rolls, = -24bp
Joker: -13 to Damage, =-13bp

Everyone is also pending either 9 or 19 damage from the discord hyme pending their resistance roll which I will resolve in a separate post at the top of each round.

Brownie Point Pool:
Lionel 'Freight Train' Williams: 237/289 @
Roy O'Dowd: 369/426 @@
David "Mac" McAuslan: 297/345
Dzjokar "Joker" Jelal: 499/569

@ = One free re-roll without ghost die.  Merry Christmas 2019 & 2020!

[Bluehorse]

Updated Map

CotLG4.jpg (64.7 KiB) Viewed 999 times

[Rex]

Mac

Mac fights back against the Old Man as best he can with Julia over his shoulder.

"The Lord is my path!"

Save vs Brains (3) [1d6]=6
Attack vs Muscles 10 +2BP [6d6]=28 Ghost [1d6]=1

[Scott308]

Lionel "Freight Train" Williams

After getting smacked in the face with a book, Lionel blinks his eyes a few times. You fu...fricking hit me! He is barely able to keep from swearing in church (not that this one is a holy place anymore) before trying to rip the book away from Father Belmont like a football from the ball carrier, flinging it as far toward the front entrance that he can.

Save vs Brains (2): [1d6]=4
Grapple: [7d6]=24; Ghost Die: [1d6]=1
Awesome. So glad to see the Ghost Die Curse is real and active.

[Urson]

Joker
Brains: 5 [1d6]=4

Joker struggles, not allowing himself to 'take five' and fully recover. He fights back against the Old Man, pure grade-school flailing at him.
[2d6]=10 ghost [1d6]=3