Chapter 3: The Path of the Righteous Man

[Enoch]

Hoping Shadrach can spot a gun from a downed biker or something...
Notice (Wis): [2d6]=4
...Nope.

Shadrach stumbles away from the wall near Taavi like a punch-drunk fighter, drawing his knife from his boot as he does so. He launches into a stumbling run toward the bar, giving the ghoulish dancers a wide berth as Grim peels off to launch itself at one. He throws himself against the bar, ducking down beneath the surface, and waits for the next discharge of the spike thrower.

Grim's Attack: [1d20+1]=9+1=10, damage [1d10]=7
I already used my Main Action with a skill check, so I guess this is it.

[Marullus]

The bartender clubs-up his spike thrower and butts Oliver in the head with it, crumpling the boy to the floor. "Oliver!" yells Hansel.

Báleygr's drone hovers over Taavi, shining its spotlight on the scene as the lawyer breathes shallowly, the blood in his mouth sometimes making bubbles. As the coverall-wearing mechanic sitting in the truck makes conspicuous gestures, Taavi's wounds begin to visibly seal and knit together (+11hp, 11/14). Taavi awakes, propping himself up on an elbow to see Shadrach scrambling on the floor near the corpses of several slaughtered wasteland bikers, but coming up empty handed.

Shadrach stumbles away from the gory mass of dead bikers near Taavi like a punch-drunk fighter, drawing his knife from his boot as he does so. He launches into a stumbling run toward the bar, giving the ghoulish dancers a wide berth. He throws himself against the bar, ducking down beneath the surface, and waits for the next discharge of the spike thrower.

Nora is a blur of poetic violence. She pulls her monoblade from the ribcage of one of the strippers as the monstrous creature slides to the floor, slashing the longknife across the necks of the other two without even blinking (-3, -3), their attempts to impede her both foolish and fatal. Grim melts out of the shadows cast by the drone lights, leaping onto the dissolving creatures now on the floor in Nora's wake. His muzzle disappears inside the shattered rib cage as his body undulates with gulping motions, the strippers' corpses melting into inky goo around him.

Hansel takes advantage of the bartender shifting focus to Oliver to carefully line up a shot, controlling his breathing, and slowly takes up the slack on the trigger while focused center-mass on the back of the bartender's head. The searing bolt of laser light knocks the man forward (-5) just as Nora's longknife careens end over end through the air and skewers the man in the mid-back (-9). His magnetic spike thrower clatters to the floor between Oliver's body and Hansel.

There is a racking sound as both thugs on the stage reload, taking aim at Nora as she slaughters her way through the bar's employees. BOOM! Muzzle-flash lights up that end of the bar as heavy buckshot tears through Nora's side (-8). She cries out in pain, continuing to limp towards the bar to reach the unconscious Oliver. Iluminated by the flash, the two now-hideous performers on the stage both hiss at the group ransacking their bar, their fangs protruding.

"I... just... wanted... a... drink!" yells the middle-aged man in the black duster as he hits the door bouncer repeatedly with his broken pool cue until the bouncer unfolds a pair of wicked fangs and sinks them into the man's shoulder. The man cries out in pain.

Hansel shifts forward at a crouch to check on Oliver's condition. He triggers his radio, "I'm with Oliver behind the bar, he's bleeding from the head and unconscious. Bartender is down, stairs going down in kitchen! What's the status on Pete?"

"AI, scan for any other radio signals," says Báleygr, still seated in the truck which protrudes from the wall, his attention shared between his real senses and those of the drones. The cube on the seat next to him pulses and processors in the comm server on the back of truck begin to whir audibly as their fans overclock. "With the power generation on the roof disabled, there's no radio emissions," says The Heavy in a cool tone, "But an auxiliary power supply in the lower floor beneath us is powering something with a distinct dimensional energy signature."

...

"Nice job. Cavalry coming in hot, keep them busy, the units should be there momentarily to dispatch them," speaks the drone as it hovers a few meters over Emile's head, filming his near-death escape. Emile glances over his shoulder and sees the four women-like creatures falling back and giving up pursuit, intent on not being drawn away from the open bay door of the lower level. He ducks behind a cargo container that lies discarded along the back of the building, wheeling around and pointing his guns back in their direction, pausing only to consider his next move.

OOC:

Nora knife [1d20+3]=19+3=22[1d8+3]=6+3=9
Technically, one of the strippers was killed by the shock damage last round and the final one was killed by the shock damage this round, while her attack was throwing the knife at the bartender. Narratively, I applied the shock damage first.

Thugs with Shotguns [1d20+2]=1+2=3[3d4]=8 [1d20+2]=18+2=20[3d4]=8
Both target Nora as the scariest threat. -8hp takes her to 1 / 16.

[greyarea]

Emile peers from his cover and looks for a target. He will fire on any of them foolish enough to come out. If none do, he looks to see if there is a way to seal the door from the outside (chain he can shoot to make the door slam shut/container he can push against the door/that sort of thing).

Option 1: SunShooter [1d20+4]=4+4=8 Damage: [2d6+3]=9+3=12 Range: 50m Magazine: Unlimited attack rolls continue to be lousy.

Option 2: Notice [2d6+1]=12+1=13 but other rolls are pretty good. I wonder if the dice roller is trying to tell me something…

[jemmus]

Taavi makes and effort and stands upright. He takes advantage of the fact that the shotgunners have just shot and may have to reload. If not, he may soon be back on the floor. He runs for the truck and his semi-auto rifle that's in it.

[cybersavant]

AI : "But an auxiliary power supply in the lower floor beneath us is powering something with a distinct dimensional energy signature."

Báleygr Gangleri moves the drone from Taavi to the bar. heal Nora

On comms he says "We've detected an energy signature coming from the lower level." The third drone hovers to watch if Petyr comes from the other room. The drone with Emile keeps light on the doorway and the not-women there.

[Marullus]

Hansel and Shadrach?

[redwarrior]

Hansel hesitates for a split second, taking everything in.
Oliver unconscious and bleeding, but it looks like he's still breathing. Nora taking a big hit, stumbling, but seeming to right herself. Someone or something hit the bar... That formidable spike thrower laying there. Whatever the bouncer is. Those two things on stage, the shotgunners. Pete somewhere? Something going on down below. "Dimensional power???" Taavi looking none to good... The retreat option seems off the table, at least for now... Also, "dimensional power?" sounds like the sort of thing we want to NOT turn our backs on..

Triage says the first think you do is secure the area. The shotgunners are the biggest immediate threat and the only clearly ranged one. Hansel uses the bar as a shooting platform and partial cover as he takes careful aim. if one has a better line of retreat, he'll go for that one, if not, random. Breathe in, Breathe out, Caress the trigger.

Laser Pistol [1d20+3]=15+3=18 Damage [1d6+2]=6+2=8

I made a few of assumptions. 1. Oliver is still breathing, 2. Nora is still moving here, 3. That it would be a main action to take up the spike thrower, figure out its operation, and check ammo.

[Marullus]

I made a few of assumptions. 1. Oliver is still breathing, 2. Nora is still moving here, 3. That it would be a main action to take up the spike thrower, figure out its operation, and check ammo.

1) Oliver being unconscious means he needs to be stabilized.
2) Nora did indeed seem intent on reaching Oliver, and has eliminated obstacles.
3) Referencing the moves on p. 50-51: "Pick up an Item" is a Move Action. "Reload a Weapon" is a Main Action if it needs it and I would include your other items within it.

The Spike Thrower is a TL4 mag weapon; its operation wouldn't be mysterious (see below for book description). It's the equivelent of a shotgun with slug-rounds. It is worth considering that only Hansel currently has a ranged weapon (in his pistol) and the spike thrower is the second tool now available.

Mag weaponry involves the magnetic acceleration
of metal flechettes, while spike throwers are the shotgun
equivalents of these weapons. Mag ammunition is
packaged with integral power supplies, so no additional
power cells are necessary to fire these weapons.

Magazine: 15 rounds
Range: 20/40
Damage 3d8* (* This weapon capable of burst mode.)

[redwarrior]

I made a few of assumptions. 1. Oliver is still breathing, 2. Nora is still moving here, 3. That it would be a main action to take up the spike thrower, figure out its operation, and check ammo.

1) Oliver being unconscious means he needs to be stabilized.
2) Nora did indeed seem intent on reaching Oliver, and has eliminated obstacles.
3) Referencing the moves on p. 50-51: "Pick up an Item" is a Move Action. "Reload a Weapon" is a Main Action if it needs it and I would include your other items within it.

The Spike Thrower is a TL4 mag weapon; its operation wouldn't be mysterious (see below for book description). It's the equivelent of a shotgun with slug-rounds. It is worth considering that only Hansel currently has a ranged weapon (in his pistol) and the spike thrower is the second tool now available.

Mag weaponry involves the magnetic acceleration
of metal flechettes, while spike throwers are the shotgun
equivalents of these weapons. Mag ammunition is
packaged with integral power supplies, so no additional
power cells are necessary to fire these weapons.

Magazine: 15 rounds
Range: 20/40
Damage 3d8* (* This weapon capable of burst mode.)

Tracking, thanks.
With any luck, Shad's action involves being on this side of the bar.

[Enoch]

Shadrach rolls over the bartop, dropping down on the inside and grabbing the spike-thrower.

It sounds like Redwarrior was not planning on grabbing it based on the last post. In that case, I'll pop back up and unload on whomever's closest:
Bolt-Thrower: [1d20+1]=6+1=7, [1d20+1]=19+1=20
I'm assuming this thing doesn't have a burst-fire mode.

Grim's Attack: [1d20+1]=4+1=5, damage [1d10]=3

[Marullus]

Ambiance: Rest in Peace

The monstrous strippers dead and gutted all around her, Nora breaks into a run and dives over the bar to join Hansel behind it. She wastes no time, checking Oliver's vitals and applying plasteel strips to his wounds. "No... no, no, no...." she mutters in a waivering tone, tending to him. Grabbing her longknife from the bartender's corpse with one hand, she scoops up her now-bandaged young child from the floor, holding him tight to her body with the other arm.

Hansel pops his head above the bar and fires his laser pistol at the thug on the left side of the stage (-8), but presenting a tempting target and taking a full load from the shotgun across the left side of his chest and shoulder. (critical hit, -14)

Shadrach rolls over the bartop, dropping down on the inside and grabbing the spike-thrower. As he pops up from cover the mag-weapon roars in his hands, launching a metal spike straight through the skull of the bouncer at the door, knocking it and its fangs off the middle-aged man in the black duster. The middle-aged man wobbles on his feet, grabbing hold of the edge of the bar before sliding slowly to the floor.

Taavi, miraculously hale, pushes to his feet, sprints across the barroom, and pulls open the passenger door of the truck just as a load of buckshot peppers it. Looking down he sees the thin metal of the door did little to slow the metal shot -- he bleeds profusely from his re-punctured abdomen. (-8) Numb from the shock, he leaps into the seat next to Balygyr, knocking the glowing cube onto the floor.

As Balygyr concentrates on the vision granted by his drone cameras, he mutters something arcane in low tones while making gestures in the air with his fingers. It makes Taavi's hair stand up on the back of his neck. Simultaneously, Nora's shotgun wound stops bleeding and begins knitting itself closed before everyone's eyes.

The two monstrous dancers howl an eerie keening, enraged, and charge at the bar where the three marshalls and child Oliver are now seeking cover... Grim leaps from the shadows, missing them with his teeth but throwing them momentarily off their stride. They're only two meters from the bar now...

Transformation.gif (1.33 MiB) Viewed 610 times

"...what now??" asks Nora of Shadrach and Hansel, gripping Oliver to her tightly. Her eyes glance back across the strewn corpses of the floor, the wreckage of what was the VIP room, the place where Petyr's body must be buried, hopefully dead, within.

...

Meanwhile at the rear of the building, Emile fires a few shots which riccochet off the cinder block exterior. He notices, however, a cable-driven garage door opener which is currently holding the bay-door open above the heads of the monstrous women.



OOC:

Shadrach damage roll [3d8]=16

Thugs with Shotguns [1d20+2]=20+2=22[3d4]=7 [1d20+2]=19+2=21[3d4]=8

[redwarrior]

Hansel reply, doing his best to calm Nora We need to finish these things off if we have any hope of getting Oliver out of here. Almost there. Slow is smooth, Smooth is fast. he says as he takes a steadying breath and slams a bolt of energy into the leftmost of the two creatures.

Laser Pistol [1d20+3]=15+3=18 Damage [1d6+2]=4+2=6

Did I drop the shotgun wielder with the 8 damage last round? I think we've got 2 of the female demon things and either 1 or 2 shotgun guards still up and effective in the main area?

[Marullus]

You have two monstrous women at close range and coming at you this round, both unwounded. You have two shotgun thugs still on the stage, one wounded, neither down. All other threats neutralized.

Hansel, Shadrach, Nora, and Oliver are behind the bar. You can exit freely to the kitchen and down the stairs, or cross the bar to return to the truck.

Balygyr, Taavi, and the blonde woman are at the truck. There is a drone above the bar, one by the truck, and one at the rear with Emile.

Emile is otherwise alone at the rear entrance to the lower level with four monstrous women, finding he can't shoot worth a damn.

[greyarea]

Emile, who can’t shoot worth a damn, takes a called shot at the cable holding the door up.

SunShooter [1d20+4]=9+4=13 Damage: [2d6+3]=5+3=8 Range: 50m Magazine: Unlimited

[Marullus]

Balygyr, Shadrach, Taavi?

[cybersavant]

Báleygr Gangleri really has nothing to do this round except wait and watch

[jemmus]

Under the mental strain of the hectic situation, Taavi has an absurd thought. "I must be the most shot and blown up lawyer in all of Greater Kumekha." He grabs his rifle from the truck, flips off the safety, and runs to the open door. He crouches and uses the door jam and outer side of the wall to partially shield his body. He takes aim at the shotgunner.

Shoot - 0 [1d20+1]=16+1=17 [1d10+3]=9+3=12
I hope I did that right. I forgot how to roll in SWN.

[Marullus]

Just need Shadrach's action (which then helps determine Nora's action).

[Enoch]

"Now," Shadrach says, racking another bolt into the chamber, "we kill these bitches." He pivots almost mechanically to face one of the charging women and pulls the trigger as Grim turns toward the shotgun-toting men on stage.

Bolt-thrower: [1d20+1]=3+1=4, [1d20+1]=13+1=14
Grim's Attack: [1d20+1]=17+1=18, damage [1d10]=6

[Marullus]

Ambiance: This Is My World

"We need to finish these things off if we have any hope of getting Oliver out of here. Almost there. Slow is smooth, Smooth is fast." Hansel says to calm Nora. The hideous creature that used to be a stripper leaps from the floor to the bartop in one mighty spring, snapping its six inch long snake fangs just inches from the gunslinger as he feints back, brings up his laser pistol, and simultaneously blasts it in the neck at point-blank range. (-6) The creature tumbles backwards off the bar.

"Now," Shadrach says, racking another bolt into the chamber, "we kill these bitches." He pivots almost mechanically to face one of the charging women as they make their superhuman leap onto the bartop. The right stripper lashes out and tears a gash in his arm with long talon-like fingers (-2) as Shadrach pulls the spike thrower up dead-center on her chest and pulls the trigger. (-16) The stripper splatters backwards in a red cone of gore that coats the tables and chairs behind her.

"I must be the most shot and blown up lawyer in all of Greater Kumekha," muses Taavi, shouldering his rifle and aiming an expert shot at the wounded shotgun-wielding thug on the stage, who drops to the wooden flooring. (-12) A moment later, the shadows meld into the form of a hideous hound, who savages the man as he screams and gurgles in terror. (-6) The second thug blanches, turning from the carnage and fleeing back through the stage curtain.

There is a moment of silence in the ruined bar. "It's alright... it's alright..." whispers Nora as she remains in a crouch, stroking Oliver's head as she cradles him to her chest. Then the left stripper shoves open the bartop panel next to Nora and screeches, lurching towards her! From the flatbed of the truck, the greasy blonde woman rolls onto her belly and pulls out a laser pistol -- a pulse of red light careens across the room and drops the stripper, unmoving, a few inches from where Oliver and Nora sit.

Balygyr focuses on the drone camera feeds. At the rear of the building, he sees Emile shoot out the cable, the garage bay door slamming shut abruptly between him and the four hideous women. From above the bar, he looks down on Nora as she crouches at the rear, Oliver waking up in her embrace and throwing his arms around her neck. From above the truck he sees the shots by the greasy blonde and by Taavi, but he doesn't recall seeing the greasy blonde pass the truck earlier.

At the far end of the bar, nearest the front door, the middle-aged man in the black duster groans, gripping the bar ledge to pull himself off the floor, red blood staining his clerical collar and his left shoulder.

The room is still dark except for the red tail lights of the flatbed truck which still is punched through the tar-papered glass of the front wall, and the two narrow spotlights shining from the drones hovering just below the ceiling, one near the truck and one near the bar.

Balygyr - remember, even if you don't see a direct action for yourself, your drone presence allows you to add a Help roll to another character.

Initiative: Party [1d8]=4 Strippers [1d8]=6
Initiative: Shadrach's reroll [1d8]=4
Since it now matters...
- Strippers 6
- Hansel 6
- Shadrach 5
strippers reach the bar before getting shot.

Left stripper [1d20+2]=12+2=14 [1d6]=1 Right stripper [1d20+2]=16+2=18 [1d6]=2
Shadrach damage [3d8]=16
Greasy blonde woman [1d20+3]=8+3=11 [1d6+1]=3+1=4