Sorry, they are wearing chain mail and breast plate. You're not sure on the insignia, the forces youv'e been fighting have had a dizzying array of different insignia on them.
Sorry everyone! I've been having trouble connecting to paizo for like 4 days, it might've been my internet, I think it's good now.
Do we have a megaphone/speakers of some kind with us? If so I could shout a message in the language I've learned.
You have an external speaker on the LAV. It's not really loud enough to go a mile though.
I don't think we specified locations, I'm calling shotgun as I think I have the command slot. Laine as gunner and Daniel as driver, leaving the rest of you as passengers.
I expect that "it's magic" could be an answer.
However, when a lightning bolt, or high power lines, hits a vehicle, nothing happens. The wheels (and a LAV has wheels not tracks) insulates the vehicle.
A lightning bolt might have enough juice to punch straight through the vehicle, in which case I'd expect that the same thing happens as what happens to airplanes that get struck by lightning. Basically a small hole in the fuselage.
On average every commercial plane gets hit by lightning about once a year. The last time a crash occurred due to this was 1963.
"Most plane bodies are made of aluminum, which conducts electricity around the shell of the plane without letting it in, according to Lightning Technologies, Inc. Electronics and navigation equipment are grounded and protected from electrical surges. Fuel tanks are tested to ensure they can withstand a lightning strike without allowing dangerous sparks."
Our LAV may not be protected the same way, but I would expect it to still have some protections since a shell hitting one component could cause a surge and they wouldn't want the whole vehicle going down for it.
Anyway, what I'm suggesting is that "it's magic" shouldn't necessarily negate all modern science. Sure a lightning bolt against our team standing on the ground would be devastating as we'd all be grounded. A grease spell would probably be more of an issue in the LAV than a lightning bolt though.
What happens if our base starts putting up grounding rods every 10' around the perimeter? I have a feeling that mages would find their lightning attacks to be easily negated since they don't know that lightning gets grounded like that.
Basically, the LAV gets no armor vs the bolt. For purposes of realism, the bolt hit, released both electrical and EMP damage, and shorted out some of the wiring and circuitry. The LAV isn't totaled, and can probably be restarted, but it's not at 100%.
Trying to remember this game from too many years back. What type of magic has the range to strike a mile away?
We're using some of the alternative rules, you just aren't experienced with them yet. Basically, it's using Long Distance penalties, and the ranges on certain schools of magic are altered. One of the things about GURPS is the rules are very modular and can be altered regularly. As long as they are consistent within the game, it should all be good. You'll find out the rules in effect eventually (And I'll put them in the campaign tab).
Umm, yeah cause I was like holy @#$% we're dead.
They take out our vehicle at one mile, we're not in range to take them yet, which means we have to hoof it, in the open, against a mage that can call down lightning on top of us...
yeah, so dead.
Now if we don't give a carp about rescuing, then I'll pull out one of those RPG's and just take out the wagon.
Damaged is not 'taken out'. Although if you stay there long enough he'll get another charged up to hit you with to make sure. Moving targets are harder to hit, just saying.
Wondering if at this point the mission would require retreat. Not what Rainwatter wants to do, but we do have mission criteria that says not to engage a superior force. If they can do that much damage from a mile off they are superior.
Agreed.
If you prefer, of course, head out. Just pointing out that it has 120HP, so it's taken 25 of 120 HP, and you have apparently one long range attacker.
Edit : Just to note, both your M2HB and your M61A1 are in range of the people currently (6,900 ft and 7,000 ft respectively).
I'm thinking of what makes sense for a small, isolated scout unit, that can't call in air support or artillery support.
While they could hose the hole wagon with their weapons, it'd kill the prisoners as much as the guards.
You don't rush into a gun fight with a knife.
And you don't run half a mile to get into range with your M16 while taking fire the entire time.
The lightning bolt had no problem hitting our moving vehicle, and we run a lot slower than it was moving on the road.
We're not on our assigned path. Rescuing locals is a stretch of meet locals.
Engaging what appears to be an overwhelming force with a mandate to avoid engagements, is also a stretch.
We don't know how long it takes to recharge a lightning strike.
So yeah, retreat makes sense on too many levels.
Note : You were stopped when it hit
Everything else, no quibbles with. Entirely up to you guys if you attack, retreat, or retreat and circle back and attack. Just want to make sure you are aware you were stopped (and that your big guns are in range currently is all). (Note, given the speed advantage, you could easily loop around and set up an ambush 5 miles down the road).
I'm assuming you're giving us someplace high that we can see where five miles ahead of the road is, and a way to traverse around them out of sight, and get into position without them seeing the dust plume of our vehicle?
What rolls would be needed for all that?
Keep in mind, we don't know where that road goes, we weren't allowed UAV's.
BTW: The 20mm Vulcan on the LAV has the following stats, depending on which set of ammo you put in it.
GE M61A1 Vulcan
Ammo Type : SAPHE
Damage Type : Cr
Damage : 6dx3(0.5) plus 1d-4[2d]
Snapshot : 20
Accuracy : 15
Half Damage Range : 2,000 yds (1 mile)
Max Range : 6,000 yds (3 miles)
Rate of Fire : 66/100
Shots : 252/Belt
Cost : $40,000
Weight per Shot : 0.57
Cost per Shot : $2.3
TL : 7
Energy Required : 17kW/26kW
Ammo Type : API
Damage Type : Cr
Damage : 6dx3(2)
Snapshot : 20
Accuracy : 15
Half Damage Range : 2,000
Max Range : 6,000
Cost per Shot : $4.6
Ammo Type : APEX
Damage Type : Cr
Damage : 6dx3(2) plus 1d-4[2d]
Snapshot : 20
Accuracy : 15
Half Damage Range : 2,000
Max Range : 6,000
Cost per Shot : $5.7
You have 4 drums of SAPHE rounds, and two each of APEX and API, for 8 drums total. That's 252x4=1008 SAPHE rounds, and 504 APEX and 504 API rounds. (GM Couldn't find info on standard ammo carrying, so made up count, squawk if you know they carry more or less).
I'm assuming you're giving us someplace high that we can see where five miles ahead of the road is, and a way to traverse around them out of sight, and get into position without them seeing the dust plume of our vehicle?
What rolls would be needed for all that?
Keep in mind, we don't know where that road goes, we weren't allowed UAV's.
Sarcasm isn't really required.
The road has gone pretty much straight for the last 30 or 40 miles since you left the village.
Last time I checked, grass lands and small brush do not dust plumes (I've described and shown pictures of the grassland).
You are in hilly country, you both happened to be on top of hills to see each other, keeping out of line of sight means not going on top of hills.
I'm done though, the sarcasm is really not appreciated. Do whatever you guys want, I was just trying to point out options. I'm just the GM, what the hell do I know. I'll shut up now.
I apologize. I was not trying to be sarcastic. I don't have a good mental picture of the landscape and I was drawing my own picture.
The vulcan is powered by the LAV, but all the systems crashed. So until we get the vehicle operating again we can't traverse the turret (electric motor), or fire the 20mm.
From Wiki:
M242 Bushmaster 25 mm chain gun with 210 rounds of ammunition
Two M240 7.62 mm machine guns with 660 rounds of ammunition, one mounted co-axially and one pintle-mounted on the roof
Standard LAV fitted with a turret with 360° traverse, armed with an M242 25 mm chain gun with 420 rounds of 25 mm ammunition, both M791 APDS-T (Armour Piercing Discarding Sabot-Tracer) and M792 HEI-T (High Explosive Incendiary-Tracer), of which half is ready for use. One hundred fifty rounds are ready for use from one stowage bin, 60 from another stowage bin, the other 210 rounds are stowed elsewhere in the vehicle. A coaxial M240C machine gun is mounted alongside the M242, and a pintle-mounted M240B/G machine gun, with 1,320 rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition, is mounted on the turret roof.
I couldn't find a variant of the LAV armed with a 20mm. I did learn that 20mm is considered the largest bullet and that 25mm is the smallest shell. In GURPS this would be going from rifle to cannon.
Guyyyys they just disabled our vehicle with a lightning bolt from a mile away.
If we try to run, we're probably dead. I think "snipe the mage" is as important to a retreat strategy as it is to an attack strategy.
It's not clear from the post.
Are the guards shooting the prisoners or is there a third group shooting the prisoners?
The soldiers that were guarding the wagon are now shooting the prisoners.
I realize several people are frustrated with this game. As the GM, I'm a bit frustrated too. I specifically requested in the recruitment that someone be 'in charge' and the person who volunteered went AWOL, and nobody else has stepped up to accept being in charge of final decisions.
I really need someone to step up and say, I'll take the spot, or I need the players to work OOC to make decisions. I would prefer to use the NPC commander, if there is one, to make the decisions IC that the group makes OOC, but I need the group to actually come to a firm concensus OOC so I know what to do with the NPC if we go that route.
On another note, I still want feedback on equipment/army rules/etc, but we may want to take those to PM so we don't clutter up the discussion thread, I think that may be contributing to the difficulty with getting decisions made OOC?
Again, please don't take these as rude, take them as rushed posts I didn't have time to re-read for diplomatic wording. :)
I will reluctantly take the lead slot if no one else wants it.
But, I'd prefer that we still discuss what I'll "order" in this thread before issuing those orders in the IC thread.
For instance, each player can chime in if they want to pursue and engage, or break and withdraw from this current action.
I'll follow majority choice, or break ties.
On one hand, our moment of stunned inaction is probably about right for an unexpected circumstance like this.
For future sniping for Laine :
DeadEye and Precision Aiming have the following benefits :
Time Interval / Bonus
1 second / +Accuracy of Weapon + scope + bipod
2 second / +Accuracy + scope + bipod + 1
3 second / +Accuracy + scope + bipod + 2
5 second / +Accuracy + scope + bipod + 3
9 second / +Accuracy + scope + bipod + 4
17 second / +Accuracy + scope + bipod + 5
32 second / +Accuracy + scope + bipod + 6
64 second / +Accuracy + scope + bipod + 6
Note if you get a +4 scope, then 64 seconds goes up to +7 instead of +6.
At 5, 9, 17, and 32 seconds, you have to make a Precision Aiming skill check to gain the bonus. If you make it, you succeed at gaining the bonus, if you fail, you lose all aiming bonuses and start over. If you crit fail, your target notices the gun.
So, if you use your precision aiming, you can get a total to-hit after 32 seconds of 15 (Skill) + 6 (Accuracy) + 3 (Scope) + 1 (Bipod) + 6 (Precision Aiming) = 31. This requires 4 successful Precision Aiming checks.
I'm also not a *completely terrible* driver, if we need a sub in the future, though the NPC is probably better (I'm tricked out for horses, not cars). Hudson is uh... not great at combat-type things, though hopefully that will change eventually.
Sorry guys! Just gave a conference talk to a room of 250 people, including two Nobel laureates, and uh... this is taking up more of my time this week than I thought it would.
Just remember, Nobel Laureates can do stupid stuff just like the rest of us.
So here's where being the leader of a small groups gets complex.
We need to:
1) chase down any of the guards that ran for it.
2) debrief the girls and start exchanging language
3) acquire transportation for the girls (they won't all fit in/on the LAV
I suggest that a couple of the NPC's be tasked with hooking the wagon to the back of the LAV.
Hudson gets assigned as liaison with the girls to watch over their healing and work on language.
Laine and Daniel go chasing guards.
Any other ideas?
Couple of things :
The wagon is heavily damaged, the front left wheel shattered when it hit those big stones, before it flipped over. That lizard was strong. It also weighs about a ton, so flipping it back up on it's 3 good wheels will be difficult. Not saying you couldn't haul the wagon with the LAV, even with the missing wheel, just saying you'll have to be careful how you hook it up.
Debriefing may be a bit complicated, but you can probably do it with a lot of talking back and forth.
If you take the iron cage off, the bed might work (it might even work with a missing wheel). About half the wagon's weight is in the iron cage and the sand ballast in the wagon frame to keep it from tipping over.
Laine can try and look in the direction of the guards getaway with my sniper?
They scattered, and have had a 30 minute head start in hilly country.
Daniel was directly assisting, and the girl casting magic for 10 minutes after cutting into the other girl was a bit distracting. I highly doubt you would have left your squad mates with an unknown magic user to chase down the guards.
Indeed Laine would not leave only scout after them through his scope, he is a bit protective.
Dawn's pretty average on just about everything but combat engineering (fortifications and breaching fortifications) and machinist. Not a driver, only okay for guns (rifles).
Do we need to switch up who's driving and who's manning the 20?
I'd like a turn not driving. I think we have NPCs about as good as Daniel.
Getting a Ghostbuster's vibe here. What are you suppose to say if someone asks if you are a god? lol
So it appears we've lost King. We may have lost Hudson. SHould I do a recruitment?
I think so.
Might be a good idea at this point
Sounds good to me, we have a couple of NPC's they can take on.
Not sure if I want a new comer to come in with a higher rank though.
New Recruitment Thread Feel free to answer questions from potential players, or commment to me about people who apply (or PM me if you want to keep it on the down low).
I'm getting confused.
The LAV has a range of 400 miles with its tanks. We had gerry cans with fuel for another 200 miles. (post may 30th)
Our group was supposed to travel out 200 miles, then scout north for 40 miles (40% fuel usage), before coming back. That would give us a 20% fuel safety margin, or roughly 120 miles of range (post may 25th).
Even at 50 miles per day, the entire trip shouldn't take more than six days.
Assuming we were half way out, our return trip should only be a few days. Our mission had a time cap of one week. We were managing 30 miles per hour.
We somehow covered 600 miles in the first two days, and haven't run out of fuel (post june 15th).
The extra 200 miles of range would be 7 5-gallon gerry cans.
We could retcon already having a trailer with 55 gallon drums. Each 55 gallon drum adds about 317 miles of range.
This is a combination of a problem with how GURPS abstracts (the LAV has a range of 300 miles) and the GM being both stressed at the time and not knowing as much about LAVs as the players. :)
My assumption was you had enough fuel in the convoy to refuel until you break off, and there was fuel dumps left by the convoy along the way for refueling. Being stressed, I didn't put all that into the post. So basically, when the last two LAVs broke apart, the convoy (Non LAV portions, HUMVEEs and Cargo Trucks) set up a fuel depot for refueling and turned around and went back to base. So after that 2 days, you had a full 300 mile range due to refueling. That allowed you 125 miles of exploring if you needed it (125 out and back with margin).
As to 600 in 2 days, that's 10 hours at 30 mph per day on average. Remember, the local days are longer than earth days.