SPACE JESUS: MASS EFFECT FAWTL

Game Master Freehold DM

Gir, not waiting for them to open fire, begins to defend himself. Guns: 4d3 - 8 + 3 ⇒ (2, 2, 3, 1) - 8 + 3 = 3

One of the mechs explodes into its constituent parts.

SIX mechs remain to challenge you.

"Alright, let's do this. I've got them [in my sights]. Dern, grenades, on my mark."

Grace fires off a pair of disruptor shots into the lead mech, then signals to the tech specialist.

Guns: 4d3 - 8 + 6 ⇒ (3, 2, 2, 1) - 8 + 6 = 6; Damage: 6 (base 4 + 2 Disruptor Ammo vs. synthetic targets)

Currently active: Disruptor Ammo, Marksman; IN MY SIGHTS aspect on the group of LOKI mechs

Disruptor Ammo is a priming power for tech bursts, and Dern's Frag Grenades are a detonator.

Said LOKI mech explodes into its constituent parts. FIVE remain.

Dern?

"No disrespect, Sarge, but I think you've got the wrong target."

Hestia leaves the barrier to care for itself duration: scene and sends a tendril of blue force towards the varren pup.

LASH: 4d3 - 8 + 5 ⇒ (1, 1, 1, 3) - 8 + 5 = 3 vs pup's Athletics or Biotics

If she wins vs pup, pup is pulled closer and receives 2 dmg.

Dern calmly launches a grenade set to trigger an explosion due to Grace's disruptor ammo.

Artillery: 4d3 - 8 + 3 ⇒ (1, 1, 1, 3) - 8 + 3 = 1

From th grenade itself, that's damage 5 unless they roll Athletics to beat my roll. From the detonation, that's Damage 4 unless they roll 4 on Athletics or Systems, assuming they are aware.

"No disrespect, Sarge, but I think you've got the wrong target."

Hestia leaves the barrier to care for itself duration: scene and sends a tendril of blue force towards the varren pup.

LASH: 4d3 - 8 + 5 ⇒ (2, 1, 3, 1) - 8 + 5 = 4

vs pup's Athletics or Biotics

If she wins vs pup, pup is pulled closer and receives 2 dmg.

athletics: 4d3 - 8 + 1 ⇒ (1, 1, 1, 3) - 8 + 1 = -1

Surprised that anyone would attack it, the puppy lets out a yelp and is clearly hurt.

Dern calmly launches a grenade set to trigger an explosion due to Grace's disruptor ammo.

Artillery: 4d3 - 8 + 3d6 - 100d3 - 8 + 1 ⇒ (2, 1, 3, 2) - 8 + (5, 4, 2) - (2, 3, 3, 3, 2, 3, 1, 3, 2, 1, 2, 1, 3, 3, 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 1, 3, 1, 3, 3, 2, 1, 3, 2, 3, 3, 2, 2, 1, 2, 3, 2, 1, 3, 3, 2, 2, 1, 3, 2, 3, 3, 2, 1, 3, 3, 3, 2, 3, 3, 3, 1, 3, 3, 2, 1, 3, 2, 3, 3, 2, 3, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 2, 1, 1, 2, 3, 2, 2, 3, 3, 2, 3, 3, 3, 1, 1, 3, 1, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 2, 3, 2) - 8 + 1 = -222

sigh.

Athletics: 4d3 - 8 + 1 ⇒ (1, 1, 1, 1) - 8 + 1 = -3

The explosives expert lives up to his name, and the LOKI mechs are destroyed.

An anguished, human sounding wail comes from the pup.

"NOOOOO! Nonononono. Ohhhhhhhhhh."

"That is the most eloquent varren I have ever encountered," Dern says with curiosity. "We must study it."

Bump..? It's been a while guys although the website was not particularly cooperative for a few days.

[dice=Athletics] 4d3-8+1

The explosives expert lives up to his name, and the LOKI mechs are destroyed.

An anguished, human sounding wail comes from the pup.

"NOOOOO! Nonononono. Ohhhhhhhhhh."

Grace approaches the cybernetics-enhanced varren, her rifle at the ready.

"Tell us who you are, and what you're doing here, and I'll do my best to make sure you're not harmed any further."

I'm assuming the voice is being transmitted from elsewhere? One can't be sure-- I've heard of weirder things happening than a talking dog in a sci-fi game.

Who is that masked DM? wrote:

[dice=Athletics] 4d3-8+1

The explosives expert lives up to his name, and the LOKI mechs are destroyed.

An anguished, human sounding wail comes from the pup.

"NOOOOO! Nonononono. Ohhhhhhhhhh."

Grace approaches the cybernetics-enhanced varren, her rifle at the ready.

"Tell us who you are, and what you're doing here, and I'll do my best to make sure you're not harmed any further."

I'm assuming the voice is being transmitted from elsewhere? One can't be sure-- I've heard of weirder things happening than a talking dog in a sci-fi game.

indeed, the sound is coming through the dog, as if he were a radio

Gir notes that the source of the transmission is coming from downstairs. With the look mechs taken care of you shouldn't face any more difficulty in getting to the bottom of this.

If I was going to use an implanted animal for surveillance, I would choose something less intrusive than a varren," Dern muses. Let's see where this takes us, shall we?"

"Use what ya got, I s'pose," Hestia yawns, "Let's move. Kill this thing first?" She makes the suggestion casually.

"Use what ya got, I s'pose," Hestia yawns, "Let's move. Kill this thing first?" She makes the suggestion casually.

"I'd say take it with us while we pay its master a visit. No sense in doing more damage than we absolutely need to."

She stops for a second, then turns back to Hestia.

"Take it with us alive, Harper. And remember, whoever this is can probably still see and hear us."

"It's good to be specific." Hestia's face is carefully expressionless as she tries to figure out how to bring the thing with them - alive.

She tries a grab.

fight to grab: 4d3 - 8 + 1 ⇒ (2, 3, 1, 1) - 8 + 1 = 0

"It's good to be specific." Hestia's face is carefully expressionless as she tries to figure out how to bring the thing with them - alive.

She tries a grab.

[dice=fight to grab]4d3-8+1

The creature squirms out of the clumsy attempt to restrain itcampers off in the direction you were going anyway, seemingly eager to show you to it's master after all.

The trail is long, but uneventful. Nothing really to see here but stairs and stairs and more stairs, winding downwards for what could indeed be just under a quarter of a mile. The stairwell terminates, with a handful of other landings that lead to floors that seem to have been disused for quite some time, although they were obviously once dorimtories- and spartan ones, given the lack of amenities beyond a refreshing station. The overall cleanliness of the area bespeaks of mechs and a disturbing attention to detail- a stark difference from the first few, varren infested floors. Eventually, you land at what has to be the basement- or some kind of main sub-level. All that is here is a single, large room, filled with surveillance equipment that is linked to the now-dead varren(save one), computers that were at one point in time cutting edge, and a single human man who looks old enough to be everyone's grandfather, quietly weeping at his desk.

"Dern, you brute, you made him cry," Hestia says in a low aside to the Salarian, "Blew up his pets. Big meanie."

Despite the apparent peace of the place, she scans for trouble. Alertness: 4d3 - 8 + 2 ⇒ (3, 3, 2, 2) - 8 + 2 = 4

Dern looks at Hestia with wonder. "Very well. You may adopt the next varren we encounter, so long as you feed it, groom it, and keep it from disemboweling the neighbors."

Dern straightens up when he sees the sobbing man. He looks about at a loss for how to respond to this emotional display. "There, there," he says perfunctorily. He hands the man an oil rag to sop up his tears. "Please identify yourself. This facility is meant to be unoccupied."

Dern looks at Hestia with wonder. "Very well. You may adopt the next varren we encounter, so long as you feed it, groom it, and keep it from disemboweling the neighbors."

Dern straightens up when he sees the sobbing man. He looks about at a loss for how to respond to this emotional display. "There, there," he says perfunctorily. He hands the man an oil rag to sop up his tears. "Please identify yourself. This facility is meant to be unoccupied."

"We don't intend any harm," Grace adds, keeping her words intentionally vague and neutral, "we were sent by interested parties to investigate some unusual activity in this sector." Softening slightly, she lowers her rifle. "Really, sir, it's alright. We're here to help."

Hestia taps at her omnitool and speaks to it. "Note to self: see if anyone has developed a sense of humor subroutine to upload into Salarian brains."

The old man smiles suddenly, but it is a smile that does not reach his wet brown eyes.

"Site: Atlas is compromised. I follow protocols. Must...sanitize...data."

He gets up from his desk very slowly, as if he has not moved in some time. He scuttled around it like a crab, attempting to make his way to one of the computers.

Biotics, Dominate: 4d3 - 8 + 5 ⇒ (2, 1, 1, 3) - 8 + 5 = 4 2 shifts so only this exchange.

"Not so fast, mister. I need you over here. Enemies followed us down the stairs. Get ready." Hestia takes ion a blue glow as she exerts her will to draw the old man away from the consoles, beckoning him back to the bottom of the stairs where she waits.

[dice=Biotics, Dominate]4d3-8+5 2 shifts so only this exchange.

"Not so fast, mister. I need you over here. Enemies followed us down the stairs. Get ready." Hestia takes ion a blue glow as she exerts her will to draw the old man away from the consoles, beckoning him back to the bottom of the stairs where she waits.

"We've been infiltrated?"

The old man moves with surprising speed as he is spurred on by the biotic power. He is soon in front of the young woman, looking around and eager to protect her.

Grace looks from the old man, to Hestia, then back again.

"Infiltrated? Atlas? Can someone tell me what's going on here?"

"Gramps and I will hold the stairs while you two secure this room and-ay e-thay ata-day, Sarge." She looks to her companion and waves her pistol up the stairs to urge him forward. "Let's go... what's your name?"

"Fortunately, I had the opportunity to study many human languages, including English, Mandarin, Arabic, Klingon, and Pig Latin." Dern moves quickly to the console. "We will secure this terminal at once." He sets about trying to recover and download as much as he can.

Systems: 4d3 - 8 + 5 ⇒ (3, 1, 1, 3) - 8 + 5 = 5

The terminal gives up its secrets with only a minimum of encouragement. The information that you download is...disturbing. A faint song plays while transfer occurs...

Hestia feels a memory tingling in her..something about that song is VERY familiar...make an Academics check!

Academics: 4d3 - 8 + 1 ⇒ (3, 2, 1, 1) - 8 + 1 = 0

Hestia hums along brokenly with the little transfer ditty.

A memory is not tickled, but the words the man mutters sotto voce are important too..everyone make an alertness check

Alertness: 4d3 - 8 + 2 ⇒ (1, 3, 1, 1) - 8 + 2 = 0

[dice="Alertness]4d3-8+2

the music is too loud for you to make out what he is saying.

I GOT A 4!

It suddenly hits Hestia why this music is familiar- it's from an opera, one of humanity's greatest

La Traviata?

Dern is alarmed by this revelation. "What is happening?" he asks of the man. "Is this facility rigged to self-destruct?

La Traviata?

Dern is alarmed by this revelation. "What is happening?" he asks of the man. "Is this facility rigged to self-destruct?

Though her full-face helmet masks her expression, Grace stiffens noticeably at Dern's question.

"Let's not take any chances. Squad, form up on me, we're getting out of here. Gir, Dern, make sure you've got as much of the data as you can; Harper, make sure our new friend gets out safely. I've got your backs. Let's move!"

A trilling noise goes off, indicating someone is attempting to contact the team. Kody's extremely friendly voice says, Greetings! I am picking up an extremely high number of heat signatures indicative of explosions from the edifice you are currently in, on multiple floors. Furthermore, there are a pair of craft similar to mine en route to your position, bearing the IFF of local security forces. Are you in need of assistance from Captain Arpin' s voice The Dolphin?

Hestia snorts and grabs the old guy's arm. "C'mon, geezer, you're with me. Did we get all the bits and bytes, guys?" She starts guiding/hauling the guy up the stairs.

A trilling noise goes off, indicating someone is attempting to contact the team. Kody's extremely friendly voice says, Greetings! I am picking up an extremely high number of heat signatures indicative of explosions from the edifice you are currently in, on multiple floors. Furthermore, there are a pair of craft similar to mine en route to your position, bearing the IFF of local security forces. Are you in need of assistance from Captain Arpin' s voice The Dolphin?

Grace keys her helmet's comm link.

"We're going to need an extraction, Kody. Meet us at the drop point in five. We're bringing one extra. Over and out."

"We have what we were able to download from that terminal," Dern says, checking his omnitool while hustling with the others to safety. "Anything else will have to be salvaged from the rubble, if it can be salvaged at all."

The building shakes. None of you have been in groundquakes before, and although the bulk of you have experienced combat, this is nothing like that. Explosions rock the team from all angles, and you know you are in a deathtrap. The stairs are like slopes, and it takes work to navigate them. The fresh air is a relief, even if the temperature differential hits you like a sledgehammer. Kody isnt kidding- there are two shuttles heading in your direction with all due speed- fortunately Kody is ready and waiting to pick you up, but the explosions are getting to be a bit much...

Everybody roll Alertness to learn more about the incoming shuttles, and Athletics to keep your feet and be able to escape the scene should you not want to deal with the new people incoming. Zinneus, roll demolitions too...

Engineering: 4d3 - 8 + 4 ⇒ (2, 2, 2, 1) - 8 + 4 = 3
Alertness: 4d3 - 8 ⇒ (3, 2, 1, 2) - 8 = 0
Athletics: 4d3 - 8 ⇒ (3, 2, 2, 2) - 8 = 1

Alertness: 4d3 - 8 + 2 ⇒ (1, 2, 3, 2) - 8 + 2 = 2
Athletics: 4d3 - 8 ⇒ (3, 2, 1, 2) - 8 = 0

Sorry so brief, working.

[dice=Alertness]4d3-8+2

[dice=Athletics]4d3-8

Sorry so brief, working.

Hestia stumbles as the ground becomes unstable, and her attempts to hold both herself and her companion upright fail. She drops to one knee to maintain a grip on the man and keep both of them from falling prone.

"Zhu's Hope security transports, sir," she shouts to Grace over the sounds of explosions, "Humans, I'd expect. We really don't want to tussle with the local authorities, right?"

"Zhu's Hope security transports, sir," she shouts to Grace over the sounds of explosions, "Humans, I'd expect. We really don't want to tussle with the local authorities, right?"

"Not if we don't have to." Grace signals for everyone to get moving. "Everybody on the shuttle. Harper and the old man first, then Gir and Dern, and I'll bring up the rear and make sure everyone gets there safe and sound, alright?"

Athletics: 4d3 - 8 + 2 ⇒ (3, 3, 2, 1) - 8 + 2 = 3
Alertness: 4d3 - 8 + 2 ⇒ (3, 3, 3, 2) - 8 + 2 = 5

"Quickly," Dern affirms. "This outpost is being demolished from the bottom up. There won't be anything left to stand on in a moment." He helps make sure Hestia and the old man are boarded safely on the shuttle.

"Given the seriousness of the situation, we are departing without a countdown." is all the warning you get before the shuttle lurches into motion. just like that, the Zhu' s Hope transports see on your wake, as you escape the imploding, collapsing building. It is almost beautiful, in a way, a surreal moment - and then Gir's omnitool goes off. Something is wrong with the passenger, who seems to be going into some kind of seizure. He needs medical, now.

The transport touches down in the hangar, and the old man is teetering in and out of consciousness. Lt Vaws is there with a pair of officers you haven't seen before. "REPORT! is all she bellows in a tone that demands compliance.