Iron Gods Campaign (Inactive)

Game Master Daniel Penfold 351

Zimdoz squeaks, ”I will, but my shot will burn out before too long - say the word and I’ll fiee.” Zimdoz takes aim, the barrel of his dragon pistol glowing white. ”Lady, I have one too. Stand down!”

Zimdoz readies an action to fire when Vivienne tells him to fire. Here’s the attack in case she does

mwk dragon pistol, mutagen, flagbearer, point blank shot, ranged touch, readied action: 1d20 + 8 + 2 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 8 + 2 + 1 + 1 = 31
dragon pistol, flagbearer, point blank shot, ordnance: 1d4 + 2 + 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 2 + (1, 4) + 4 = 12

Vivianne you fail to disarm her

I will never surrender

With the woman's words Zimdoz fires his pistol, dealing the woman a powerful blow.

The woman fires at Vivianne

Inferno pistol: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24

damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

And back to you guys

Seeing his multiple bashing attacks failing to hit, Grezzag adjusts his grip as he steps around and focuses his efforts into a massive two-handed swing.

2H attack Power Attack, Flagbearer, Non-lethal, Guidance: 1d20 + 8 + 1 - 4 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 8 + 1 - 4 + 1 = 21
2H damage Power Attack, Flagbearer, Non-lethal: 1d8 + 14 ⇒ (6) + 14 = 20

also 5ft stepping around so Vivianne can flank

Poshment follows Grezzag and keeps filling him with Milani's grace. "Excellent swing, we've surely got her on the ropes now!"
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Guidance! That was a sick swing!

Vivianne growls as the shot plants itself into her arm, waving her arm to help get rid of the pain. She swings her blade to try and disarm her again, shouting. "I'm not asking you to surrender, I just want to know WHY ARE YOU ATTACKING US IN THE FIRST PLACE?!"

Disarm: 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 7 + 1 = 23

'And why doesn't anything work on you?' Alldur groans as he draws his borrowed wand of magic missile.

Force Damage: 2d4 + 2 ⇒ (3, 3) + 2 = 8

Zimdoz continues to ready an action to fire, contingent on Vivienne giving the go-ahead.

Can't do nonlethal, sorry!

My lord Hellion has ordered me to destroy anyone who interferes with his plans. You have discovered that we are siphoning power from the town, therefore you must die

Vivianne, you manage to disarm the creature of its pistol.

I think some of you still have actions

I think we've all acted: I attacked, Viv disarmed, Posh cast, All wanded, Zim readied

The woman attempts to punch Grezzag

spiked gauntlet: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22

damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Back to you guys

"I admire your tenacity madam, but surely you see the futility of your current endeavor?" Poshment asks as a bruise begins to form in an identical location to were Grezzag got socked. She seems to be forcing our hand here, I think she'll be fighting us to her dying breath, no matter the odds!
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Guidance vs Grezzag, 2 HP marked off for Shield Other.

Anyone else?

did my last attack hit (and do the expected damage?) I'll switch to lethal if nonlethal isn't working.

2H attack, Power attack, Flagbearer, Nonlethal, Guidance: 1d20 + 8 + 1 - 4 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 8 + 1 - 4 + 1 = 24
2H damage, Power attack, Flagbearer: 1d8 + 14 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 14 + 1 = 16 nonlethal

Not expecting the android to fight back, Grezzah winces as her gauntlet smacks him in the side.

"I can do this all day if I have to, lady." Grezzag grumbles as he whacks her again with the flat of his axe.

Zimdoz continues to wait for confirmation from Vivianne.

Vivianne sighs loudly, deciding negotiations would go better if she wasn't in a position to try and punch them. She shifts her blade in her hand and swings with the flat at her head.

Longsword Nonlethal: 1d20 + 7 + 1 - 4 ⇒ (4) + 7 + 1 - 4 = 81d8 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 3 + 1 = 10

Alldur waves his hand upwards, launching a ball of acid at the woman.

Ranged Touch: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

Acid Damage: 1d3 ⇒ 3

@Grezzag, yes last attack hits

With Grezzag's second blow the woman falls unconscious

Loot:

Black nanite hypogun (5 charges)
chain shirt
m/w spiked gauntlets
+1 inferno pistol
2 nanite canisters
white access card
bedroll
cold weather outfit
flint and steel
m/w backpack
rations for 5 days
traveler's outfit
waterskin
winter blanket
11 silverdisks
62gp

"So, uh, what do we do about her and how do we stop power from being siphoned from the town?" Poshment asks as he starts going through her equipment. Carefully, he puts his hand around the pistol just like the woman did. What a bizarre contraption! Sort of like a small crossbow... but with fire? Aiming at the door, he takes an experimental shot. "Well isn't that exciting? I've never been a great shot, so I've no intention of keeping it, but what a thing to fight with!"
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How is everyone doing in terms of HP?

I'm down two, but I'd wait until she's tied up before channeling or anything. I believe some of the stuff from the gargoyle is good for restraining people, if anyone recognises it... yeah, it was the ion tape and the zip stick - if you zap the tape once it goes hard, if you zap it again it goes soft again.

Grezzag nods in satisfaction as the android finally falls.

"Hmph. Well, I hope she'll talk more once she can't hit us. No-one's heard of any Lord Helion? Some noble or god?"

Once her dangerous items have been removed he drags her across the room away from the strange mechanisms and stands guard over her.

Knowledge Religion: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

In response to Poshment, ”I have not the foggiest idea. These contraptions are more advanced than anything I’ve seen before and I have never heard of Hellion.” Zimdoz’s dragon pistol cools down and he scratches his head, looking at all the new machinery.

Perception take 10, 23, looking for how the machines here might be messing with the torch.
knowledge (engineering), heightened awareness: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (9) + 10 = 19

Grezzag, you have never heard of the name Hellion.

Zimdoz, it looks to you that the source of Torch's power is in this chamber but someone has fitted a device to the power source that is siphoning the power away.

Sliding her sword into her scabbard, she sighed and looked down at the woman. "I couldn't sense anything foul from her... It makes me curious. We don't know what this situation is, beyond it being at the cost of Torch. I want to question her when she wakes up, figure out what's going on. Anyone have an issue with that?" Digging through her pack, she pulls out some rope and binds the womans hands.

Following Zimdoz's study, Alldur begins to carefully examine the device.

Is there a clear way to disengage or turn off the fitted device without damaging the torch?

Know Engi: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (8) + 12 = 20

or

Disable Device: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21

Could I use disable device on the... device?

"That sounds reasonable to me. I'd love to know why they did this. Should I try disabling that... thing? Or should we finish exploring first?"

It looks as if the power source has become destabilised by the implanting of the device. If its not fixed then the power source could explode taking the Black Hills and perhaps half of the town of Torch with it.

Alldur you think that the device can be disabled but if you fail there may be a a backlash of electricity

Poshment's ears perk up at the call for speaking with the woman. "An interrogation? I can help with that! What information do we want to know? Is there anything we don't want her to learn about?" he asks.
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Whether or not she will care about nice words, Poshment has invested in Diplomacy if you want him to take the lead. No worries if someone wants to talk to the woman themselves!

She gestures to herself with a sigh. "I think it best if I handle the interrogation. She's more likely to trust my word as a paladin. No offense to you. If you feel the need to interject or listen in though, feel free to."

Alldur stirs from his in depth study of the affixed device, stirred by Zimdoz's question. 'I think it's wisest to remove this thing as soon as possible. I'd do it myself but I've only started tinkering with the devices around here and I worry about a shock if I touch the wrong thing.' He motions for the ratfolk to take a stab at the device if he chooses.

Grezzag head jerks up at Alldur's words. "Wait, is this going to shock like that other place? I reckon we'd best wait in the other room." He grabs the android and drags her out the door.

"There was some busted mechanics in another room," he remarks to Vivianne and Poshment. "Blasted the whole room. If it was this one that set that up, wouldn't be shocked if she did it here too. "

”Shocks to everyone, well, all of you, shoo and I’ll tinker with it. Wish me luck.” Zimdoz gestures for the party to leave the room, then turns to the device.
When everyone has left he will try to disable the siphon.

disable device, mutagen: 1d20 + 11 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 11 + 2 = 24

NOPE! Needing no further urging, Poshment dips out of the room immediately. As an after thought, he calls back to Vivianne. "Whatever you feel is right is fine by me! I'll honey up your words when you get going!"
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I'll aid you Viv! I've got a +10 so I can't fail to aid you! :D

"Good luck Zimdoz. I hope your don't get shocked!" Vivianne exits the room and sighs, looking around before kneeling next to the android, rubbing her chin. "Should I heal her so she awakens, or just let her wake up naturally?"

Zimdoz it takes you about 10 minutes but slowly and carefully you manage to deactivate the device. As you finish two columns of energy flash with light, then pulse back upward to create a vortex of violet flame that erupts into the sky above Black Hill. Somehow you know that the flames of Torch have been restored

"Be good to get answers now, I s'pose. Council might want to talk to her too." Grezzag muses. "Easier to take her up if she can walk, but if that's too much trouble, I can always knock her out again and lug her up."

--

Seeing the flashes and hearing the sounds from the next room, Grezzag peeks back in, then grins. "Hey, nice work!"

Zimdoz, covered in grease and grime, shouts back, ”Thanks, you all can come back in now.” He looks a little tired, but unsinged, and holds up the device for everyone to see, then wraps it up and puts it in his bag. He wipes his paws on a relatively clean rag hanging at his side, a number of times, trying to clean off the grease, only somewhat successfully. He twitches a moment and then relaxes, taking a deep breath. ”We should search this area and the rest of this cave level for any other stragglers.”

"In that case, do you think we should interrogate her before or after exploring the rest? If we wish to explore, I could carry her with us."

It takes about 20 minutes but eventually the woman comes around

Ready to jump into an interrogation with Vivianne, Poshment finally enters back into the room, sufficiently convinced the electrical danger has passed. "We could talk to her now, knock her out, then bring her before the town leaders. Sound like a plan?"

While everyone waits, Zimdoz searches the room extensively looking for treasure or secrets.

Take 10 on Perception, 23. When she wakes up, Zimdoz has exhausted his mutagen and heightened awareness.

Vivianne offers Poshment a nod before sitting herself down in front of the woman. As she wakes up, she lets a small smile come across her face. "This is probably a stupid question, but it's only polite to ask. Is there anywhere in particular that hurts a lot, miss...?"

Zimdoz you do not find any treasure or anything of note.

I do not feel pain, do your worst

Vivianne's smile falls a bit and she sighs, shaking her head and reaching a hand out to use a Lay on Hands on the woman. "I was asking to make sure you were comfortable. As our prisoner, it's our duty to ensure at least that much. Now, how about something simple. What's your name, miss?"

My name is Meyanda, I am the servant of my lord Hellion

"You have a lovely name, Meyanda. Now, we want to sort this whole mess out, as we're pretty confused. Can you tell us who your lord is, and why he had you doing what you were? Perhaps there's a way of going about it that won't harm the town nearby?"

I was awoken by the rat people in the town of Scrapwall. I do not know how long I slept. I heard the AI Hellion in my head, he is worshipped by me and the Lords of Rust. Hellion sent us to connect the device to these engineering drives to siphon off the energy to Scrapwall for Hellion's use. Hellion wants to use the energy to power a mighty weapon that lies deep beneath Scrapwall. The only power source that is powerful enough is the power here.

Scrapwall and rat people? Sounds like a pair of good leads if ever I heard one! With conversation flowing pretty readily, Poshment continues to bid his time while Vivianne plys her trade.

Vivianne nodded, gesturing with a hand towards the device. "Alright, so that explains that. If I may ask, what is Hellion, and what has he done to earn your worship?"

'Also, what is 'AI'? Is it some sort of title?' Alldur asks

Grezzag stands guard, keeping one eye on the prisoner, and one eye open for anyone else approaching.