GM Rednal's Iron Gods (Inactive)

Game Master Rednal

No, I know he's gonna be down until we level up, most likely. It sucks a little, but we'll manage. Hopefully. And I'm fine returning or sleeping here.

"Might as well barricade in here, I can only see one door...and I'd really rather not go all the way back to town..." Perem said as they kept looking at the black rectangle curiously.

"Suggestion: We should carefully pack that item away to ensure it is not accidentally broken." Eir advised, grabbing some of the furniture (odd-looking chairs like none you'd ever seen) and dragging them over to help build a barricade in front of the door. If there were no other tasks you wanted to do, you'd have a safe night's sleep... but when you woke up, you still had that view of the large habitat area... and saw a number of four-armed skeletons moving around inside the dome, between you and your exit.

Out in the hall, there were two doors yet - the one you hadn't been able to unlock before, and another door on the side of the hall you hadn't tried yet.

Perem looked mildly sheepish, carefully packing the black rectangle away before she helped to build the barricade. She retired for the night after a few moments to preparing her bedroll and several minutes in her prayers quietly to herself...

The sight of four-armed skeletons was not a pleasant one to wake up to. She looked around in panic for a moment to Eir and Brass before she started to pack up her bed roll, her eyes more on the creatures as she tried to determine if they were trying in or something...

Perception: 1d20 ⇒ 13

Bum, I posted this yesterday. Silly internets.

Brass muttered darkly at the sight that getting back was going to be...exciting, without Mr Black's fists. Well, one was hanging off her bag, but it wouldn't do much good.

"Alright," once they broke camp, "So long as those stupid skeletons stay out there, we should be safe. Thanks for checking on them, Perem. Since one door is locked, let's try the other." Moving to the other door, she quickly checked it out before waiting for Perem.

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7

Looking at the door from before, it appeared to be exactly as you'd left it. There was no sign that anything had come or gone while you were sleeping.

Perem nodded, "Might as well test that door before going back to the other one...don't really want to test getting past those yet..." she said as she walked up to Brass, ready to head.

Nodding, Brass tried the door they hadn't tried yet.

Passing through the door you hadn't examined yet, you found yourselves in a very long corridor. For design reasons unknown, the only other door in this hallway was close to the place you entered, and it featured a design much like the other door you'd failed to get through. (Some kind of odd formation with a thin slot, barely thicker than the pages of a book. It certainly didn't look like a keyhole.)

Remembering the thin thing Perem had found, Brass took a look at the slot to see if it would be the right size.

Perem carefully unpacked the black rectangle thing so she could test it on the door hole thing.

Perception: 1d20 ⇒ 15

Testing the black rectangle, you eventually slid it through - and a small green light briefly flashed before the door slid open to reveal a
10-foot-wide, 5-foot-long corridor that ends at an unlocked door. The next door looks distinctly different, like part of a new area.

"Huh," Brass murmured, looking at the little rectangle with interest. "Odd shape for a key. No teeth. Maybe it uses magnets instead?" Shaking her head for a moment, she added, "Wanna check the other locked door before we continue, or try the zappy corridor?"

Perem's face lit up as the test work. She almost bounced with excitement and it took her a few moments to hear and respond to Brass. Oh..um...tick...the other room might have something useful, I don't think I saw anything in the...zappy corridor that to test with it right now though testing if this one is zappy might be an idea... she said as she looked down the corridor and then back to where she had put in the black rectangle to see if there was an way to get it back safely...

Knowledge Engineering: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10
Perception: 1d20 ⇒ 14

New map added.

Repeating the action on the previous door - sliding the rectangle between the two protrusions - that door flashed a green light and opened as well. (B12)

The air in this room seems to buzz and hum with energy. Strips of glowing rectangles light the room from above, while strange flickering windows line the east and west walls. A large glass-topped circular table sits in the middle of the room. To the north sits a large metal desk covered with blinking lights, while a humming pillar of purple-and-black metal stands nearby, its sides flashing with tendrils of violet energy. A single golden panel flashes with a soft but incessant light on the side of this pillar. A thick layer of dust coats everything, diffusing the lights shining from the various surfaces, and many of the machines seem to be damaged, cracked, or otherwise ruined.

Brass whistled, looking around the room as she walked in. "Still has power. I wonder if it's connected to zappy corridor?" She began to have a look around, wishing she had the time to simply rummage down here, but they had a mission. If this place didn't get sealed off again she'd have to come and take a peek.

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5
Knowledge (Arcana): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18
Knowledge (Engineering): 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (2) + 10 = 12

Brass had the Technologist feat, if that's relevant.

Wide-eyed, Perem nodded in response to Brass's whistle. She cautiously entered the room, sad to see so much was damaged...and the dust, as she looked around...just a minute or so likely wouldn't hurt even if there was no sign that the townspeople had come this way and they might something that could help with those creatures...

Perception: 1d20 ⇒ 14
Knowledge (Engineering): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13
Profession Mechanist: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8
Craft Mechanical for things Perem could make with: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26 apparently Perem really wants to make stuff...XD

The golden panel appears to be one of the only components that's in proper working order. At least, you're pretty sure the majority of the room isn't the way it was originally designed - broken things are usually pretty obvious, but you don't have many references to go off of here. Unfortunately, you probably can't build anything out of these parts, but you could interact with them and see if you could provoke some sort of reaction.

Moving cautiously, Brass went over to the gold panel. Maybe it was a control system of some kind. She tried to figure out how to interact with it.

Perem had mixed emotions as she wished she understood more. Maybe there would be time later. As she saw Brass go to the gold panel, Perem followed and hoped she could help...

After a few moments of investigation, Brass eventually just pushes the golden panel inwards. The room abruptly begins to whir and hum. A series of muffled clicking and buzzing sounds echo through the walls, and a moment later, the circular table in this room flares to light, providing some kind of image of the structure on its surface. Numerous panels on the wall fill with static, and the pillar of purple metal flashes and begins to pulsate.

"Shiny!" Resisint the urge to push it again (for now) Brass moved to the image, trying to see it might be the structure they were currently in. A map would be handy.

Perem spun around with a smile as the room began to activate. With Brass, she moved to the image of the table as she tried to take it in while keeping a wary eye on the staticky panels...

Perception: 1d20 ⇒ 10

Looking at the illusion(?), Brass noticed some writing in Androffan near the bottom, reading 'Habitat Module'. It definitely looked like the structure you were in, and showed a number of caves on the northeastern side of the giant room. It also, more interestingly, showed a looooong corridor to the north that wrapped around the entire structure - probably leading to the solid door in the outside caverns you hadn't been able to get through earlier. Other than that, you appear to have explored more-or-less the entirety of this area, save for the passage forward... wherever that might leave.

(Of slightly more importance: You were here to look for people. Did you want to check every chamber, or move forward on the guess they were somewhere further in?)

"Habitat module? Like a place to live?" Shrugging, Brass waved Eir over. "Your memory is probably better than mine. Can you remember this layout?" Noticing the door, and the potential shortcut, Brass considered exploring it later. "OK, once we're down here, it looks like it's time to head down the long corridor."

Until we have some idea where they are, we'll need to at least peek in every chamber we come across, I think.

Perem looked over the strange image and, after a moment, nodded in agreement with Brass. "Might as well test if they've gone that way since we've not found much sign of them since...the first group of angry people..." Perem said, ending with mild discomfort as she hoped they would find more signs of them soon that did not involve people having been killed...

"Confirmation: I can remember it." Eir answered as she looked at the image.

I should note the longest corridor is inaccessible from here - it looks like it connects to another area. You can, however, go through the last set of doors. ^^

Brass headed to the last set of doors.

After another look around the room, Perem followed Brass back to the last set of doors.

Updated the Habitat Dome map. Also, new map!

Passing through the door forward, a large metal desk with blinking lights and strange glowing panels sits atop a raised area on the east side of this room near a circular table. Two couches covered with black material sit to the south a pair of black metal pillars. Splatters of dried blood stain the floor and walls near a pair of doors to the north, while here and there patches of rust-red mold and fungus cling to the southern wall. The room itself is brightly lit by glowing panels on the ceiling.

Glancing at the blood in mild alarm, Brasss started checking the room for what might have caused it or what might have bled.

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10

Perem paused in quiet awe at the sight of the all the lights and strange panels. She would understand the delay of the townspeople...if there was any sign that they were delayed testing all of these things.

Perception: 1d20 ⇒ 12

The blood seems... dried, but not ancient. You haven't investigated in a way that would determine its actual age. It seems to go through the door, though, suggesting whatever caused it continued there. There are several upright lockers in the small room, most of which contain only strange pieces of junk and rubble. Still, a search of all five lockers uncovers some items of use, including a fully functional flashlight, three batteries, and 26 silverdisks.

Well, with shinies plundered, Brass moved to the door with her weapon at the ready. Whatever the problem was it could enjoy a face full of bullets if it was still there.

Perem considered the interesting things in the room before they followed Brass to the door, wary of the dried blood.

Perception: 1d20 ⇒ 14
Heal on considering the blood stain: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7

Bloodstains mar the floor and walls of this hallway, while scorch marks and smears of ash on the walls evidence some sort of altercation having taken place in this area relatively recently. Four tangled mounds of metal and other materials lie further up the hall, surrounded by strangely colored stains. The smears of blood continue through the doors at the end of the hall, but there's a second set of doors to the right that appear to head towards the 'center' of the area.

Wincing at the blood, and hoping it wasn't any one they knew, Blink moved to the mounds of metal. They were probably robots, Blink assumed.

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15

Perem considered the blood as they walked. She stopped at the tangle mounds of metal, her eyes drifted from the odd stains to follow the line the blood made.

After we check these, we need to...the blood is relatively recent and someone may need help she said softly as she brought her attention back to the piles of tangled parts. Something here might be able to help them too...

Perception: 1d20 ⇒ 14
Knowledge Engineering: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21
Professional Mechanist: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21

On closer examination, the mounds of metal do seem to be some kind of robot... albeit not a type you're familiar with. It's fairly obvious that they were badly damaged at some point, and none of them look like they can be reactivated. Even repairs would be enormously difficult and time-consuming - probably harder than rebuilding Mr. Black. There didn't seem to be anything especially valuable that you could see, given their condition, but it would be possible to harvest some scrap metal.

Perem sighed, it was a sad looking mess that, if she had more time and less pressing things to do, she might explore or test more. For now though, she simply made a mental note of it as she returned to following the blood trail to the door and very cautiously went to try opening the door...

Perception: 1d20 ⇒ 5

With the blood seeming like a more important factor, Brass left the scrap and followed Perem.

A long table with various unusual stones and dirt samples heaped on it sits along the southern wall of this room, while to the north a line of metal desks with glowing panels and buttons are placed next to a large humming device. The heart of this device seems to be some sort of flickering sphere of reddish-brown mud or dirt. Dust covers much of this room, save for a strangely clean swath between the doors, which leads to the strange humming device.

A moment after you entered, however, a voice filled your minds.

<Where am I? Who are you?>

Updated map!

Perem looked wide-eyed towards the humming device for a moment until the voice came. Looking around confused, Perem warily and nervously responded, "I'm Perem Merrit-tick...we're...tock...under the town of Torch? We're looking for our townspeople, wh...who are you?"

Perception: 1d20 ⇒ 19
Diplomacy: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21

Brass raised an eyebrow, rubbing her ear. "Is this telepathy? Do we have to think replies?"

The questions kept coming, though it wasn't clear from where - and going by their pacing, it didn't seem likely they were going to stop anytime soon.

<What is a town? How big is it? What are townspeople?>

"Ho boy," Brass considered. Town is a collection of habitats where people live. Towns people are people like us, who live within it. It is big enough to contain many people. Brass really hoped the questions wouldn't start getting to the 'what is live?' level.

Perem looked at Brass unsurely. While often the person with a ton of questions, she wasn't used to having them fired at her like this...particularly not basic but abstract words.

Perem followed the cleared trail towards the humming device, maybe there was something there that she could be useful for...

<What types of habitats are there? How like you are they? What are you like?>

The mental voice seemed to get stronger as you approached the humming device, which was at least helping you track down the source.

Perem cringed a bit as the voice got louder in her head. She cautiously put one hand on the device away from any buttons as she felt to see if the humming came from whole or part of the device.

<"I am an apprentice, a student...the people we look for are older, important, has anyone else come this way recently?> Perem tried thinking as she checked out the device...

Perception: 1d20 ⇒ 12
Knowledge Engineering: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27

Brass looked at Eir. "Can you hear this too?"