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Ambiance: In Hell I'll Be In Good Company

"Shadrach, they're in the house. Cover me," yells Emile as he turns his mystical six-guns towards the house and, standing in the door, rains holy fire on the monsters attacking the men on the ground.

Shadrach nods. "Clear the house and out the back." As the gunslinger fills the doorway and his pistols roar, the old soldier pivots, his back nearly to Emile's, as the barrel of his rifle sweeps the yard. A bloom of blue-white light from beyond the barn - the continuing evidence of Nora working clean-up in the distance - illuminates the four shadow creatures that make a break for the porch, slathering as they race to attack the pair.

THUMPTHUMP WRRRRRRRRRT! go the wheatcutter blades as Hansel comes careening across the yard at breakneck speed! The shadow creatures, mid-run, have no chance to dodge and the front of the tractor is splattered oozy-black with ichor as the otherworldly horrors meet the fine edge of mechanical precision. Eight piles of mangled limbs lie unmoving on the packed earth as Hansel continues onward, rounding the corner of the house.

With a shrug at the now-empty front yard, Shadrach turns back to the doorway. He drops to one knee and aims past his compatriot at the shadowy forms crouching over Richard and Báleygr. Báleygr lies on the floor under the shadow creature, transforming before their eyes. Fine, bluish-green scales cover his body; his fingers and toes webbed. Large, delicate-looking fins stretch down the back of his arms and legs with another running from his forehead down his spine. Instead of facial hair, he has a few thin whiskers projecting off the sides of his face. Large, black eyes with no apparent lids bulge out, dominating his head. Thin lips blend into his cheeks under a small bump where two slits sit as nostrils. Lower on his neck, gills protrude.

Shadrach mutters to himself as Báleygr's form wavers and resolves into something other than human, but long experience keeps him on task even as he takes it in. "What in the Nine Hells is that thing?" he asks, even as he depresses the trigger on his rifle.

The rapid-fire blasts of Emile's twin guns and the burstfire of Shadrach's church-blessed carbine tear through the half-dozen creatures in the hallway of the house even as they try to clamber over each other and make it to the basement door. Their forms explode as the mystical bullets of the pair tear through them, splattering the entire hallway with black, tar-like substance, not even chunks or gobbets remaining to risk reformation.

The creature splattered to goo as he struggled with it, Old Richard curses, wiping ichor from his face, "Oh Lord, I ain't coming home with you." He rolls to his side and pauses, seeing the fish-like monstrosity next to him that he previously thought was the unassuming mechanic. "Where'd his coveralls go?" he murmurs aloud, perhaps a form of disassociation in this strangeness. Nonetheless, he is stoic and pulls a high-tech stim from his belt, applying it. The antibiotics, coagulants, system stabilizers, and plasma course through Báleygr strange physiology and he coughs back to life. (Báleygr is back at 2hp.)

Outside the now-shattered back door, two shadow creatures try to leap in on the downed men once more, but are also evaporated by the burst fire of bullets. Two drones sweep their spotlights back and forth, scattering the half-dozen or so shadow creatures there. On the roof, Taavi sights in on the illuminated rose arbor, the single point of still spotlight from the third drone, sighting-in on the black-clad man standing casually beneath the trellis, smoking a cigarette as he watches the chaos. KRAKOW! his rifle thunders. The man falls backwards, clutching his shoulder, wounded, but not down, as he now dodges the spotlight.

A metallic bang then catches Taavi's attention to his left, away from the trellis. A drone pivots to shine on it - a metal hatch door is torn open, the metal now bent and mangled, the movement of shadow creatures seen as they dissappear within, heading down below the house...

Rolls:

They're getting into the downstairs rooms, Taavi says into comms, as calmly as he can. He looks for Petr, hoping to finish him off.

Emile moves through the house to the back door. He eyes it warily.

Close the front, he projects back to Shadrach. We don’t want to fight a two front war. .

He will fire upon any enemy he sees.

Báleygr' Gangleri "AI, send a drone to the basement."

Hansel places a quick call over the radio Front of the house seems under control, moving to the back unless I hear different... Continuing on without pausing, Hansel pivots around the house, takes in the devastation, and aims for the rose garden, where he heard that Petr was located, slaloming a bit to hit any creatures in his general path. I'll try to grind him, or at least flush him like a quail! he says into his radio mic.




Action [2d6+2]=8+2=10 laser rifle laser rifle [1d12+3]=2+3=5 I don't know why my laser macro keeps on giving only one result.... Ah, it's because I wrote it wrong... anyways, second damage laser rifle laser rifle [1d12+3]=9+3=12

Okay, we'll NPC Shadrach this round.

Ambiance: Wolves At The Door

Just inside the back door, Báleygr' Gangleri rouses, realizing his true form is visible, and recasts the illusion. His piscine features meld physically back into the generic mechanic they knew before, his coveralls reappearing over his skin as the scales disappear.
"Now that's..." says Old Richard with a look of horror and literal shock, then he turns and vomits on the hallway tile.
"What'd I miss?" asks Báleygr, chaos and gunfire still outside the door.

They're getting into the downstairs rooms, Taavi says into comms, as calmly as he can.
Báleygr' Gangleri says aloud, "AI, send a drone to the basement."

Emile approaches from the front of the house as the transformation finishes, stepping over the sticky black splatter of dead shadow creatures and now over the pile of Old Richard's sick. He holds his large-bore six-shooters in each hand and fires over their heads through the open back door, causing several more of the creatures to explode.

Close the front, he projects back to Shadrach. We don’t want to fight a two front war. .

On the front porch, Shadrach notes the gobbets of tractorized shadow creature beginning to reform on the front yard. Intoning the prayers of Saint Chrysostom, he pops a bullet in each, his movements calculated and methodical as the combat rifle shifts and fires, shifts and fires. Nothing but splatters remain, steaming remains where his holy bullets have destroyed everything that tried to move before he closes and latches the front door behind him.

At the back yard, Taavi tracks Petyr crossing to the open cellar doors, a spotlighting drone close behind him, just as Hansel and his tractor roar around the side of the house. Hansel takes in the devastation and aims for the rose garden where he heard that Petr was located, slaloming a bit to hit any creatures in his general path. I'll try to grind him, or at least flush him like a quail! he says into his radio mic. Taavi carefully aims and fires. Petyr stumbles a moment as the bullet passes through his shoulder before escaping down the stairs. Emile's pistols sound from the doorway. There is a grinding woodchipper sound as Hansel swerves to catch the last of the shadow-monsters and sends bits of the rose arbor flying around him. As Hansel takes his second pass, all cover in the back yard is eliminated and they see nothing but woodchips, dust, and the splatter of shadowy ooze where the monstrous horde was put down.

"...Oliver!" Old Richard manages to gasp between vomiting.

"No! Get back! I'll... " yells the rage-filled voice of young Oliver over the radio to everyone, the video feed coming through on Báleygr's visual display as well. Oliver stands in the hallway between the wide-open laboratory doors, a laser pistol in each hand, firing wildly at the two shadow monsters advancing down the hallway towards him.

Petyr stands, now fully lit and seen to be dressed to the nines in a full black suit. The drone floats behind them near the cellar door. "Hello, lamb..." he says to Oliver, his voice laced with an edge of both humor and threat, a man who knows he has a silver tongue.

"AAAAAUUUUGH!" yells Oliver in rage. Blastmarks splotch the walls as he screams and unleashes as many bolts of fire as he can, but the shadow creatures run at him, leaping against the walls and floors as they dodge his wild attempt. Then the boy goes down under their bulk, falling backwards onto the laboratory floor, and then there's silence.

Petyr turns to the camera on the drone and winks, the savagery happening right behind him, then he fires a single round into the drone camera, blinding it and the microphones, before he steps into the lab...

Taavi quickly climbs down off the roof and runs across the wrecked yard to the entrance to the basement. He hears the sound of shots. Again he thinks, "I hope I'm not about to make my family into a widow and two half-orphans." He briefly wonders which is his greater obligation-- to stay alive for his family, or help the the people in this desperate fight. The decision kind of makes itself for him. "Of course you have to help the people in immediate danger." Then he has a kind of ludicrous thought and briefly smiles to himself. "Headline: Greater Kumekha Lawyer Sent to Promote Rule of Law instead Plays Deputy Sheriff, gets Killed in a Basement by Black Monstrosities." He says into his comm, Going into the basement from the back yard entrance. Could use some help down there. He quickly descends to the underground floor, intent on finishing off Petr.

Hansel, watching Taavi slide off the roof and down the stairs, followed by the radio call mutters to himself Why get sane now. Nonetheless, he brings the murder tractor to a stop, it's engine idling. It seems like the external attack is done, but just in case, it's there and ready.

He quickly pulls the laser rifle free of its sling, slides in a new battery pack, letting the old fall where it may, and rushes down the stairway after Taavi.

His first goal is to finish Petr, or if he cannot do that, destroy anything that's attacking Oliver.


Action [2d6+2]=9+2=11 laser rifle [1d12+3]=3+3=6 laser rifle [1d12+3]=8+3=11 Assuming we're still in "scene" narrative, so haven't added base combat bonus to action roll.

Emile nods to Báleygr' Gangleri and says out of the side of his mouth, You were prettier the other way, smirking to show his attempt at a joke trying to set Ol' Richard at ease.

He fires at any remaining coming through the back.

Clearing the rear + dex + sunblade [2d6+4]=4+4=8
dmg [2d6+3]=11+3=14 dmg [2d6+3]=7+3=10

For the first time in the fight, Shadrach curses loudly into his open comms as he hears Petr's voice. He rushes to the basement door and throws it open, descending two steps at a time, the muzzle of his rifle sweeping wildly before him.

I imagine that I can't get to wherever Petr and Oliver are this round, but if I can I'll try to take Petr out:
Attack: [2d6+3]=11+3=14, [2d6+3]=10+3=13 Damage: [1d12+3]=9+3=12, [1d12+3]=8+3=11

Ambiance: Damned

Petyr turns to the camera on the drone and winks, the savagery happening right behind him, then he fires a single round into the drone camera, blinding it and the microphones, before he steps into the lab...

"Going into the basement from the back yard entrance. Could use some help down there," says Taavi over their earpieces.

"Why get sane now," mutters Hansel under his breath, following Taavi down the stairwell, leaving the tractor engine idling outside.

"You were prettier the other way," smirks Emile at Báleygr as he turns to cover the back yard and tractor, standing sillhouetted in the rear doorway, Old Richard on the floor behind him.

"Oliver!" exclaims Báleygr, opening the door to the basement in the hallway and running down.

Shadrach curses loudly into the comms, rushing down the stairs behind him.

...

Taavi and Hansel burst into the basement laboratory front the accessway to the back yard hatch as Shadrach catches up with Báleygr, standing abreast in the main double-doors leading to the house. Petr stands in the center of the room over a circular, shielded port in the floor, a red rotating warning light spinning on the mainframe next to him. The two shadowy horrors pin the boy to the floor, who is no longer screaming, the blood-splattered panel flooring beneath him in contrast to the sterile white of the laboratory and its fragile equipment all around you.

There is a shunk noise as Petr pulls a three-foot cylinder from the port, clear radiation symbols marked on all sides. Rifle fire from Taavi and Hansel rattles, the blasts and bullets flying at him.

The rattle of full-auto combat-rifle fire comes from Shadrach's blessed firearm, sweeping across the two shadow creatures. The first explodes in stringy splatter of black goo. The second is about to rip out the boy's throat but it, too, pops like a bloated tick and dissolves into a pool of ichor. The boy lies on the ground, savaged and unmoving. It is unclear if he lives.

Red-black swirls of vapor come off the dying monstrosities and funnel towards Petr as he stands over the port on the floor, absorbing into him as he stands. The wounds from the rifle shots gape, the entry and exit holes in his suit showing they did not miss. Within the holes, however, his flesh doesn't bleed, and the wound visibly closes to new, clear skin within. "You have no idea what you're playing at," he says in a sinister tone. In his hand, the cylinder beeps a repeated warning.

...boss fight!

Please -

• Roll initiative
• Move to normal combat actions (one main, one move) and d20 attack rolls
• Include an extra d20 roll for savings throws in each post

Marullus wrote: ↑Sat Oct 23, 2021 11:29 pm The rattle of full-auto combat-rifle fire comes from Shadrach's blessed firearm, sweeping across the two shadow creatures. The first explodes in stringy splatter of black goo. The second is about to rip out the boy's throat but it, too, pops like a bloated tick and dissolves into a pool of ichor. The boy lies on the ground, savaged and unmoving. It is unclear if he lives.

Red-black swirls of vapor come off the dying monstrosities and funnel towards Petr as he stands over the port on the floor, absorbing into him as he stands. The wounds from the rifle shots gape, the entry and exit holes in his suit showing they did not miss. Within the holes, however, his flesh doesn't bleed, and the wound visibly closes to new, clear skin within. "You have no idea what you're playing at," he says in a sinister tone. In his hand, the cylinder beeps a repeated warning.

• Roll initiative
• Move to normal combat actions (one main, one move) and d20 attack rolls
• Include an extra d20 roll for savings throws in each post

[/ooc]

Báleygr' Gangleri scans Petr with his Panspectral Optics, then runs to Oliver to cast reinforce tissue "He's only a child. You truly are a monster."

init healing save extra

Hansel, seeing the goo flow into Petr is pretty sure that he can't kill him, as if the gaping holes not stopping him were not enough of a clue. But maybe he can buy enough time for that blessed rifle of Shadrach's to do some real damage. Get the kid clear! Hansel shouts as he slips the selector from semi to burst, moves to get a clear field of fire and takes a careful bead, as if he were on a target range, with on Petr's chest centered in his sights before mashing the trigger down.

Sorry, forgot init
init [1d8]=2
Laser Rifle [1d20+5]=19+5=24 Damage [1d12+3]=8+3=11
+2 base hit , +1 hit/damage from shooting/gunslinger, +2 hit/damage from burst
Saving Throw [1d20]=1
eep..... I don't think a stat bonus gonna help here!

Taavi feels it may be futile, but all he can think to do is keep shooting Petr. Perhaps all of them together can damage him faster than he can heal. He aims his semi-automatic rifle and fires.

Initiative [1d8]=7 Rifle [1d20+1]=20+1=21 Damage [1d10+2]=9+2=11

Marullus wrote: ↑Sun Oct 24, 2021 5:25 pm Roll 1d8 for initiative.
Restore Tissue needs a 2d6 for healing.

2d6 per level, at level 2 that's the 4d6 above - which causes more strain, i know

That's by spell level, not character level - this is still an OSR-style game, so it uses spell tables like D&D. You're a type of Magister, their spell progression is below. At level 3 you will gain access to second-level spell slots. The extra healing comes if you spend one of those slots instead.

(Also, it is one strain per use, so casting at a higher level still causes one strain. Casting multiple times with first level slots costs more strain. )