Drus Badlands (Don7x's Starter Thread)

[Recklessfireball]

OOC: This will get Don7x started. Once he hooks up with everyone in the other Badlands thread, I may delete this.

After months of chasing your quarry, the infamous space pirate Draven Kreel, it has finally come to this...

You and your partner, Jak Calhoun, chased the scum halfway across the frontier in your aging scout ship, the Last Chance. Kreel fled to this godforsaken system and led you on a merry chase, to the seventh moon of the largest gas giant in the system. Here, he tried to lose you in the thick, ionized clouds of the moons atmosphere. Too bad for both of you, that someone or something on the moon had built some sort of planetary defense system.

There was no warning shot; no attempt to hail you over the commlink. Instead, a brilliant green beam of light simply lanced upwards from the surface, burning Kreels ship out of the sky, and your own shortly thereafter. Jak had done his best to set the ship down intact and, miraculously, he had somewhat succeeded. The Last Chance had buried itself in the hard desert crust, gutting the ancient ship like a fish, and Jak himself had been killed on impact, when a long metal spar, torn loose by the violence of the crash, had plunged itself through his chest. There was nothing you could do for your old partner; he was killed instantly. You barely had time to grab your gear and escape, before the ship exploded into flames.

Now you stand a few hundred meters away, watching the burning hulk of your ship belch clouds of black smoke into the desert sky. The blazing sun beats down on your head, and the bleakness of your situations begins to dawn on you, as you look around at the desolate landscape. Nothing but dry, cracked ground, and scraggly patches of stunted weed can be discerned, as far as the eye can see. If there is food, water or shelter to be found on this world, you've no idea of where to begin your search.

Suddenly, you hear something akin to a thunderclap reverberate through the still, desert air. Looking skyward, you see sunlight reflecting off the hull of a ship, as it plummets toward the ground, smoke pluming from one of its engines. The vessel (as you squint through your Sungoggles, you think it might be some type of Orbital Shuttle) spirals out of control for a few terrifying seconds then, suddenly, it seems that the pilot regains enough control to level it out, before the ship goes down with a terrific crash, sending a plume of dirt, dust and sand high into the air. You aren't sure, but you would estimate the craft has gone down some ten kilometers from your position. If they survived, perhaps they can offer supplies and shelter- or even a way off this rock!

[Don7x]

Y'ztromu Scrieedaraks spends a solemn moment surveying the smoldering crash site at a distance. Upon checking the level of his waterpack and inventorying the remaining survival rations, Yiz grants one final bows of his head in final remembrance and respect to Jak and the Last Chance.

"So long, partner."

Without further delay, Y'ztromu steps off to begin the long and potentially fatal trek toward the dark plume of smoke still faintly visible on the horizon.

[Recklessfireball]

Without further delay, Y'ztromu steps off to begin the long and potentially fatal trek toward the dark plume of smoke still faintly visible on the horizon.

The blazing sun beats down upon the Yazirians shoulders as he treks across the barren flats. The air is still and heavy- the bleached ground white with the glare of light. Yiz sips sparingly from his water, trying to conserve his meager supply, while staying hydrated.. He does not touch the rations; the heat is so oppressive that the warrior finds he has little appetite.

After about an hour, he stops to evaluate his progress. The smoke columns from the wreck of his own ship and the one he is trying to walk to, are more or less equidistant. He reckons he's traveled about five kilometers. Taking another sip from his water bottle, his attention is captured by something odd- a brownish/yellow smudge on the horizon. The slightest breeze; a faint, hot breath of air, brushes across his face and a distant rumble can be heard in the distance, along with strange, purplish flashes of light.

After a moment of confusion, he realizes its some sort of storm, rapidly approaching the crash site and, if it continues on it's present course, his own position as well. He rapidly calculates the speed of the storm, trying to determine whether or not he can reach the crashed ships position before it hits. After a few seconds calculation, he admits to himself that the odds aren't good.

He looks around, hoping vainly to find some cover to shelter from the storm. For the most part, there is nothing but flat, parched hard-pan, stretching from horizon to horizon. But after intense scrutiny, he does make out two possibilities: a large, bleached skeleton of some long dead beast, poking out of the dirt to the east, and a small outcropping of jagged rocks, jutting from the dusty soil to the west. Both features are slightly closer than the crashed vessel- but about equal distance from one another.

Looking from ship, to skeleton, to rocks, he ponders which one to try for. The storm rolls steadily onward, and the yazirian realizes he must decide quickly...

[Don7x]

With little time to spare, and even less time to ponder the options, Y'ztromu makes a mad dash for the nearby rocky outcrop in an attempt to preserve himself against the oncoming tempest.

[Recklessfireball]

With little time to spare, and even less time to ponder the options, Y'ztromu makes a mad dash for the nearby rocky outcrop in an attempt to preserve himself against the oncoming tempest.

The yazirian sprints towards the rocks in great, loping strides as the distant smudge grows into a roaring, towering wall of dust that thunders towards him across the flats. The wind suddenly picks up, pelting him with dust, and Y'ztromu is extremely grateful for the sungoggles, which shield his eyes from the stinging particles.

At last, he can see the upthrust heap, not two dozen meters away. The rocks appear to be slanted against each other in such a way, that they provide a sort of overhang and shield; a cramped shelter that a single person could crouch down under to weather the storm. The dust wall rolls onwards and purple lightning lances down from the thunderclouds above it, striking the hard pan with thundering booms that blast glassy craters in the ground.

The yazirian realizes he has only moments before the storm engulfs him. Adrenaline pumping, he makes one final push for the cover of the rocks...

OOC: Make a RS check to get under cover before the storm overtakes you.

[Don7x]

OOC: Make a RS check to get under cover before the storm overtakes you.

OOC: Yiz rolls an 82 against his RS of 72

[Recklessfireball]

Y'ztromu is just shy of 3 meters away from the rock outcropping, when he realizes that, despite his best efforts, he isn't going to make it. The sirocco rolls over him with a mighty blast, the hot driving sand scouring his flesh and the wind buffeting his body...

sandstorm abrasive damage [1d10] = 7

Thunder crashes overhead and strokes of purple lightning strike all around him, shattering the ground with craters. One of the deadly bolts arcs down, and Yiz reels as he's lashed with an electrifying jolt!

20% chance of lightning strike [1d100] = 17
lightning damage [6d10] = 32

OOC: Make a DEX check. If you succeed, you only catch a glancing jolt and take half damage (16 points). If you fail, you suffer the full 32 points of STA dmg and will be knocked unconscious unless you can pass a STA check.

[Don7x]

OOC: Yiz rolls a 57 against his DEX of 78

[Recklessfireball]

The storm envelops him and the Yazirian can feel the hair on his body stand out from the electricity charged air. A split second before it strikes, some feral instinct makes Y'ztromu leap and twist to the side, as a lighting stroke blasts the ground, a scant meter away from where he's standing.

Though the bolt doesn't (luckily!) strike him directly, the residual heat and impact of the blast are powerful enough to singe his hide and hurl him forward, where he tumbles into a hole beneath the rock outcropping. Crashing to a stop, he groans in pain and sits upright, spitting blood and coughing dust from his lungs, only to see a small, pale, prickly creature, glaring at him with blood-red eyes and hissing menacingly. It bares its lips to reveal a mouthful of needle-like teeth...


OOC: Y'ztromus current STA: 17/40

[Don7x]

Although wincing in pain and still reeling form the shock of the storm raging above ground, a hand instinctively reaches for Yiz' electric sword as the yazirian quietly draws it, facing down the feral creature - ready to strike at the first sign of aggression.

[Recklessfireball]

The creatures quills stand up and flare out menacingly. It backs up against the walls of the hole, still baring its needle-like fangs. It hisses again, then utters a low, gurgling growl, but makes no move to attack. It occurs to Yiz that this may be the creatures den, which he unsuspectingly stumbled into when looking for shelter. The Yazirian is unsure if the creature will attack if he remains, but the alternative is to walk back out into the storm, and Y'ztromu knows that that is simply not an option.

OOC: You essentially have only two options here: Try to swiftly disable the creature with your electric sword, before it has a chance to attack- or sit quietly and wait, trying not to make any movements that could startle the beast, hoping that you'll be able to share the den in peace until the storm abates.

[Don7x]

Weighing the situation delicately, Y'ztromu thrusts himself upon the creature, swinging his weapons with lethal adroit.

[Recklessfireball]

Weighing the situation delicately, Y'ztromu thrusts himself upon the creature, swinging his weapons with lethal adroit.

OOC: Roll initiative (for Y'ztromu, that's 1d10+8; you want to roll high).

The Spike Rat rolls 1d10 Initiative [1d10] = 7 +2 = 9 Total

[Don7x]

OOC: Y'ztromu rolls initiative: [1d10+8] = 10+8 = 18

[Recklessfireball]

OOC: Y'ztromu rolls initiative: [1d10+8] = 10+8 = 18

OOC: Ladies and gentlemen- I give you the fastest flying money on earth... (or, at least, Ark 7)

You've won initiative; now make a percentile roll against your melee skill to hit the beast. You can go ahead and include a damage roll for the electric sword, in case you hit, if you're using the shock setting. If you're using the stun setting, you don't need to bother.

[Don7x]

Although severely wounded, Yiz nimbly thrusts the electric sword with mastery at the agressing creature in an attempt to stun it...

[1d100] = 43
OOC: 39% Base Melee + 10% Melee Skill + 10% Weapon Mod = 59%

[Recklessfireball]

Although severely wounded, Yiz nimbly thrusts the electric sword with mastery at the agressing creature in an attempt to stun it...

The yazirians attack is blindingly swift and unerringly accurate. The tip of the sword lashes the little creature smartly on top of the head, before it even has time to react. There's a loud pop, a crackling noise, and electricity plays over the animals spiky body. It squeals loudly, convulses once, then collapses unconscious.

With the creatures threat nullified, Yiz collapses against the rock, groaning with pain and exhaustion...

Generic Rolls [1d100] = 48 vs the Spike Rats STA of 25 = FAIL. Poor lil' Spike Rat lol

Y'ztromus current STA: 17/40

[Don7x]

After guarding against any future threat posed by the creature's potential return to consciousness (which might entail removing the creature from the cave, tieing it up, or dispatching it entirely), Y'ztromu takes a lesson from the small critter and collapses against the corner of the cave to wait out the errupting storm overhead.

[Recklessfireball]

Yiz manages to roll the little creature out of the shelter, by prodding it with the tip of his sword (he's loathe to touch it directly, the quills look sharp and could well be poisonous). A great gust of wind hits the animals body, and sends it bouncing and rolling out of sight, like a tumbleweed.

Meanwhile, the storm continues to rage outside, while the yazirian rests and tries to recover his strength.

OOC: You may have a bit of downtime while I resolve the firefight in the other Badlands thread, Don7x. After that, I'll wrangle a thread merge, and then you guys will all be posting together. So try bear with me patiently, for a little while.

[Don7x]

OOC: You may have a bit of downtime while I resolve the firefight in the other Badlands thread, Don7x. After that, I'll wrangle a thread merge, and then you guys will all be posting together. So try bear with me patiently, for a little while.[/ooc]

OOC: No problem. Just let me know when we're ready to continue.