Savage Rifts and the Tomorrow Legion

Game Master Shadow Bloodmoon

Oops, forgot to respond to Burgurk.

"We'll tell him to set you on fire first and that way no one will notice him flying above them." The Kid smiles at Burgurk and then tips his hat to him.

@Burgurk- You are fully recharged at this point.

Burgurk and Terry play good cop bad cop with the prisoners. Terry being the kind one, only trying to make them feel safe despite their circumstances and Burgurk threatening to either eat them or blow up their minds and not necessarily in that order. Between the two of them, they have the group cowed. Some of the former slaves are a bit spooked as well, making sure to not run off into the wilderness, where who knows what would happen. One of them, a human female, perhaps barely an adult, speaks up. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but what's this Legion we keep hearing about?"

Tocash takes flight, his wings and the power of dragon magic carrying him aloft. It is the first time he has flown in weeks, but it comes so naturally that he has time to fly through a cloud, pull a loop and then a few rolls. He easily spots what is going on in the distance. Underneath a broken piece of an ancient overpass are several people and their pack animals, all laden with bags and boxes. A few of them have laser rifles that are shooting at the large group of Simvan riders on Ostrasaurus back surrounding them, riding in circles to keep them corralled. The circle is getting smaller. Tocash goes to say something to the others, but he realizes he has no gear and has not yet learned how to touch the minds of others.

The Kid and his Regulators ride up as close as they can, coming over a ridge. The rest hold back as Kid takes to his belly to peer over the edge. He can see a bunch of riders that look similar to Burgurk on the top of dinosaurs riding in a circle surrounding a group of people and some pack animals. The yelling and few laser shots tell him that this is not a friendly meeting.

Bart fades into the background, taking a long way around and coming up to a shattered pillar of concrete not more than a hundred meters from the overpass. Looking down his scope, he spots what appears to be the leader of the raiding party of Simvan. His mount is far more decorated and colorful than the rest and the vibro-spear he is holding sports several feathers and scalps, trophies of former conquests. He is at the point of claiming another victory.

@Barbara- Feel free to roll, but we have all the successes we needed for the first stage.

@All- the next stage is up to you. Attack or Negotiate or something else? Remember, these are Simvan, the same race as Burgurk. If you decide to attack, you have the Drop, and so even with the -2 ambient difficulty, you will still have a net +2 on any combat rolls.

The Kid activates his communicator and says, "Looks like a dustup between humans and Simvan. The Simvan have the humans surrounded and the humans have circled the wagons. Can't say how much longer the humans are going to be able to hold out. I got six beans in the wheel of "The Judge", are we going in there with guns up?"

+++Roger, Simvan vs Humans, Humans loosing, do we go in, wait out+++

Terry looks over to Burgurk
so this fight is with both of our peoples so the choice is assault, or not, Let me hear what you have to say

+++ Set positions, but do not engage YET, will get back with confirmation.+++

"Hey Tocash! Fly over them and growl. I bet they'll run! Tocash? Ah shit, no one thought to give him a comm... Ah, the kid's right. We need to make a decision fast. I've got sight on the leader and can engage at any time."

Burgurk says over comms : "Most of my people consider me to be 'not-a-Simvan' (in our language), because I don't follow the old ways of might-makes-right barbarism. But I do know once they have found a target, they won't quit until it's dead, or they're dead. Take them out quickly, before they hurt any of the humans."

"Then let's get this party started. Taking a shot at the leader in about 6 seconds."

Just enough time to take the Aim action this 6 seconds. If you'll allow it. :)

+++Got the answer, take them out hard and fast+++

Terry looks at the driver.
Any chance you can get me closer to the fray. But don't put the truck at risk

He then looks at the passengers.

remain calm, we are going to deal with a small disturbance.

Battle: 1d6 ⇒ 4
Wild die: 1d6 ⇒ 1

Barbara looks for a tactically sound spot for overwatch and support artillery fire.

@Terry, you are technically the best driver among the group, you can easily take the Mammoth to within range of the skirmish.

@Barbara- I will count that as part of your successes for the setup round.

Barbara finds a decent spot on top of another piece of broken highway. What she can't see visually, her scanners pick up: several heat signatures surrounding several more.

Bart has the leader in his sights and is ready to take him down the moment the shooting starts.

Terry takes the Mammoth and starts heading towards the fray.

Okay everyone, combat quick encounter. This is a dangerous encounter, which means that there is a possibility to get wounded. As I said above, the ambient -2 is mitigated by the Drop all of you have because the Simvan are preoccupied with what they are doing. Everyone will choose a skill, narrate how they use it for the battle and we will see if another round is even needed. Most of you will probably choose Shooting, like Bart with his aiming, which is fine. Just make sure to add that +2 to what you choose. Tocash would use either Fighting if he comes in with teeth and claws or Athletics for fire-breathing. Burgurk would use Psionics more than likely, etc. You can use social skills as well to cow them into surrendering. The choice is yours and depending on what you all do, I will narrate the consequences. Go!

Burgurk can't hit anything that's 1000" away, so he'll jump up on the back of the Mammoth just to keep the bad guys in-line and the ex-slaves calm. Won't be able to contribute to combat until the Mammoth gets to within at least 48" of the battle...

I plan to use Athletics to create a flaming cone effect as I do a fly by attack on the simvan.

Bart takes his shot at the leader, hoping that if he is wounded the group will be more likely to flee...

shooting: 1d10 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 = 11
wild: 1d6 ⇒ 3

damage, AP4: 4d6 ⇒ (1, 1, 6, 6) = 14
damage xplode: 2d6 ⇒ (2, 2) = 4
raise damage?: 1d6 ⇒ 2

Burgurk, I wasn't going to drive the mammoth into the fight, I was going to stop it outside long range, so it doesn't get damaged.

drive: 1d6 ⇒ 3
wild: 1d6 ⇒ 5

Athletics: 1d8 ⇒ 3

Wild: 1d6 ⇒ 2

Bart gets the party started early.

"Damn," The Kid curses as he sees Bart get the first shot in before he can.

He quickly leaps back onto his horse and guides it to the top of the ridge he was crouched behind, so he is in full view of the Simvan.

With his attention fully focused on the Simvan leader he yells, "Fill your hands you son of b%$@~!"

Seizing the reins of his horse between his teeth, he pulls his Wilk's 457 pulse rifle from it's holster attached to his horse's saddle. With his pulse rifle in his right hand and his six-shooter in his left he rides full speed at the Simvan aiming to make a strafing run on the D-bees.

Shooting Pulse Rifle vs. Simvan Leader: 1d12 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12 Only firing once so I can use Trick Shooting and Two Gun Kid to attack with the rifle and revolver with no multi action penalty. Also, he has the Steady Hands edge so no penalty for shooting from a moving platform.
Wild: 1d6 ⇒ 4

Damage, AP 3: 4d6 ⇒ (4, 1, 1, 2) = 8 Benny
Damage, AP 3: 4d6 ⇒ (3, 2, 2, 3) = 10 Benny
Damage, AP 3: 4d6 ⇒ (6, 1, 3, 6) = 16
Damage Explode: 2d6 ⇒ (1, 1) = 2
Damage Raise: 1d6 ⇒ 1

So, if I did that right it's 14 on the attack and 21 on the damage once I add the +2 for The Drop. Actually, I'm realizing now Bart probably rendered the leader into a fine pink mist already, so that was a waste of bennies.

Shooting Revolver vs. Simvan Extra: 1d12 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
Wild: 1d6 ⇒ 2

Damage, AP 7: 3d8 + 1 ⇒ (1, 7, 1) + 1 = 10 Ramjet rounds to mega damage.

5 for the attack and 12 on the damage.

The Regulators know exactly what to do when they hear The Kid start shooting. They all jump on their horses with their Wilk's laser pistols drawn and ride after him guns blazing.

Chavez Shooting: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
Damage AP 2: 3d6 ⇒ (6, 2, 2) = 10
Damage Explode: 1d6 ⇒ 1 Total 13

Whisbee Shooting: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6
Damage AP 2: 3d6 ⇒ (6, 6, 1) = 13
Damage Explode: 2d6 ⇒ (1, 6) = 7
Damage Explode: 1d6 ⇒ 4 Total 26

Dirty Dave Shooting: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
Damage AP2: 3d6 ⇒ (3, 5, 6) = 14
Damage Explode: 1d6 ⇒ 1 Total 17

Annie Shooting: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
Damage AP 2: 3d6 ⇒ (5, 1, 2) = 8 Total 10

Too Tall Shooting: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8
Damage AP 2: 3d6 ⇒ (3, 1, 1) = 5
Damage Raise: 1d6 ⇒ 3 Total 10

Okay, just let me know if I did this correctly. I think the Regulators numbers are all just as is since they all take the penalty for shooting from an unstable platform, but the bonus for having The Drop negates it. I also added the +2 to their damage totals and they are all firing at the extras.

Barbara takes up an overwatch position. If the enemies break formation and some of them are far enough from innocent targets, or move to engage with a vehicle, she's ready on the trigger.

Shooting: 1d10 ⇒ 10
Wild die: 1d6 ⇒ 2

Shooting ace: 1d10 ⇒ 5

Total 15 to hit if a likely target presents itself.

Boom Gun damage: 5d10 + 5 ⇒ (4, 10, 9, 5, 3) + 5 = 36 (AP 25)
Exploding damage die: 1d10 ⇒ 10
Exploding damage die again: 1d10 ⇒ 6

Looks like someone or something's getting fragged.

Bart winces as the Hammer Of God sails over him. :)

Burgurk will watch over the prisoners and try to calm the ex-slaves. Sigh.

As a Simvan explodes like a blood sausage off the back of its mount, The Kid flinches and says over comms, "I reckon no man or D-bee wants to be standing opposite of the iron lady in a shootout."

A few things: One, there is no need to roll damage in a Quick Encounter, your successes determine who lives and dies. @Kid, you did not need to spend Bennies, so you can have those back. That said, if you like rolling that much damage just to see what you can do, go ahead. It is fun after all.

Two, @Burgurk, you can be within range if you wish, see my reply to your message. You can still roll something, depending on what you do. @All- Remember everyone, Quick Encounters are abstract.

Three, @Kid, I am not sure where the +3 to your Shooting roll comes from before adding the overall +2 from me. I see the +1 from Trademark Weapon, but even if you use both guns, they do not stack. Either way, it's still a Raise. Something else to consider for the future, Extras don't add to the overall success of a Quick Encounter, but they can still roll, but as you will see, there are consequences if they fail. Otherwise, they can also use Support rolls to assist you or the others.

Here is what we have so far:

Quick Combat, Round 1
Bart 11, raise, No damage
Terry 7, success, Bumps and Bruises (-1 Fatigue)
Tocash 5, success, Bumps and Bruises (-1 Fatigue)
Kid 12, raise, No damage
Chavez, Whisbee, Dave, successes, Bumps and Bruises (-1 Fatigue)
Annie, 3, failure, wounded
Too Tall, 8, raise, no damage
Barbara 15!, Raise, no damage
Burgurk ?

The Simvan raiders, intent on their prey, have no idea that they have just become prey themselves. As the leader raises his vibro-spear to signal the final attack, an angry red laser beam comes out of the shadows and pegs him square in the chest, burning a hole through the makeshift armor he is wearing. Before he can even register surprise, The Kid and his posse ride around the pass and start blasting raiders off their mounts left and right. The Simvan leader tries to recover and rally the other riders, but the chaos of combat has already taken hold. As they try to make a route, Tocash comes barrelling out of the sky towards them, breathing a gout of flame and sending them scattering in all directions. Some attempt to flee in the opposite direction, but run into the waiting guns of the Mammoth pointed right at them. Caught between a wall of fire and being shredded by rail gun rounds, the remaining few panic, trying to go around. A resounding boom echoes across the land and suddenly several Ostrasauruses and their riders are no more. The Simvan leader, looking less proud on his colorful Ostrasaurus, is barely hanging on when...

@All- I will finish the narration once Burgurk decides what to roll. Psionics if he rushes into combat, Intimidation or Persuasion if he tries to keep the slavers in line, etc.

The +3 is from Improved Trademark Weapon and I also got another +1 for a weapon when I rolled on the Heroes Journey tables, so I applied it to his pulse rifle.

Okay, now I understand better how Quick Encounters work. I thought we were in actual combat once we decided to attack them. Although it was fun making rolls for all the Regulators it was a lot of work. I can see how there are sometimes advantages to doing it though. However, now that I know there are risks to using the Regulators like that I'll be more careful. I'll also check out the rules for Support rolls.

DMSBM - thanks much for the clarification!

Burgurk moves around the rocks until he is within Close range and psionically blasts the leader, hoping that his death will demoralized any remaining Simvan...

Psionics & Wild,+GM bonus: 1d12 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 61d6 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7 = Success

Just curious - since this is abstract, does it cost me ISP?

QEs are meant to be abstracted, including PP and Ammo, unlike Mass Battles. That said, I would say a Success only costs Resource: 2d6 ⇒ (1, 2) = 3. A Failure costs Resource: 3d6 ⇒ (3, 1, 5) = 9. No one got a critical failure, so there is that. Those who got a Critical Success were able to conserve ammo and power and it would only cost Resource: 1d6 ⇒ 2. That is assuming you used a weapon or Arcane Background for this.

...when a sudden blast of invisible force shears the Simvan leader from his mount. When the dust clears, there are several dead or dying Simvan lying on the ground, the Ostrasauruses they were riding, at least those that weren't obliterated by rail gun fire, have run off into the wilds. All except one, the leader's mount, standing over his body, nudging it with its snout.

That's when Kid notices that Too Tall is standing over someone, putting away his weapon and shaking his head. As Kid approaches, he sees Annie lying on the ground, holding her stomach with her hand. She is barely conscience when he reaches her. Too Tall says, more sheepish than usual, "I got the bastard that did this to her."

A few of the merchants were wounded in the fight as well, but their guards still seem on edge as they still point weapons in your direction. One of them yells out. "Who are you with?"

What do you do?

The Kid goes to one knee to check Annie; when he realizes she's still alive he yells out loud and over comms, "Annie's down, but alive. I need a healer. We can still stabilize her!"

So, if I'm reading the rules correctly she is either incapacitated or bleeding out. Am I allowed to look at your GM rolls? Also, is there a limit on the number of characters that can attempt to help her?

Hearing the cry, Bart will run to Annie, pulling out his first aid kit.
healing: 1d6 ⇒ 3
wild: 1d6 ⇒ 4

Tocash lands and looks at her.

I have Psionic Healing. I will use it since I think it is faster then the medicine roll. I do not have my book with me, but it should just be a Psionic roll.

Psionic: 1d8 ⇒ 4

Wild: 1d6 ⇒ 4

As Bart and Tocash quickly make their way to Annie's side, she looks up at Kid and manages to say, "I.. I didn't know you cared that much." Bart arrives and begins looking at the wound, a laser blast that went clean through the armor. Luckily, it seems to have cauterized any further bleeding, but the internal damage is what seems to be the problem. Tocash touches the wound with his claw, and within moments, the wound starts to seal up, leaving only a burn mark. Annie sputters a bit, but is able to produce a few more words. "That's one life down." She attempts a grin. Bart knows that she will be alright with some rest.

Annie now only has Bumps and Bruises

While the healers are doing their work, the rest of you notice that the merchant guards haven't backed down, but they are working to corral all of their pack animals and non-combatants as the sight of a dragon landing nearby has them spooked. As Burgurk gets closer to the leader on the ground, he can hear two of the merchants arguing over whether they should run, fight or give you a reward for rescuing them. Most of it revolves around the fact that he is a Simvan and there is a dragon close by.

Terry, behind the wheel of the Mammoth, can sense the tension in the area as well as that of the slaves with him.

Barbara breathes a sigh of relief as she notes that there is nothing on her scanners for now.

@Kid, you are welcome to look at GM Rolls if you wish. I try to be transparent about them. @All- Next steps?

"Rest up, Annie, you'll be fine. Thanks Tocash."

He will walk towards the group, stopping a bit away from them. "We're from the Tomorrow Legion. Heard your call. Tocash, " He points at the Dragon, "He's one of us. He won't hurt anyone. Burguk here," he points to him, "He's also one of us. Nothing to fear from him. We're heading home. Is there anything more we can do for you before we head out?"

D*mn, things happening fast IRL now!

Burgurk holds up his hands and says "I know I look like the ones that attacked you, but I am with the Legion. I've sworn an oath to never harm an innocent, and to protect the weak. In fact, it was my mental blast which killed the leader of the ones that were attacking you. You have nothing to fear from me."

From half a mile away, Barbara raises the Boom Gun onto her shoulder. She moves down from the elevated position and starts crossing ground to rejoin the crew.

The Kid looks down at Annie and says, "We all have it comin, some sooner than later." He turns to Too Tall, "Take Annie to the iron stagecoach. It'll be a smoother ride for her while she recovers than ridin' in the saddle."

As Too Tall lifts Annie off the ground she comments, "You sure killed the hell out of that fella that got me didn't you." Too Tall looks away from her as he replies, "Yeah I did..."

As the other Regulators gather around, The Kid keep giving orders. "Dave, Whisbee round up the horses, Chavez see if you can do anything for the merchants."

He nods to to Bart and Tocash, "I guess we owe you another one, Mr. Swanson and you one too Tocash."

Over the intercom of the mammoth
Ladies and gentlemen, please do not attack the former slavers, I have to go defuse a situation.

Terry dismounts and he spots the glitter girl strolling towards the main party.

+++Barb, can you keep the former slaves from killing the former slavers. I got to go chat with some merchants to see if I can calm things down+++

He starts walking up the hill with both hands empty and out from his body as he advances towards the merchants..

My name is Terry, and I am a member of the Tomorrow legion. We heard your call for help, and we were only a couple of miles away and came to help.

+++You got it, chief.+++

The Glitter Boy sets course to become an iron wall between the hostile groups.

"No worries, Kid. It's what we do."

Knowing his diplomatic skills are not the best, Bart will mosey back to the 'Wagon' and keep an eye on everyone to help Barb out.

I'm going to need a Persuasion roll from one of you. The others can Support. Because Terry is a Cyber-Knight and Barbara has a Glitter Girl, their reputations help offset the penalties incurred by Burgurk and Tocash. It nets you a +0 to the roll.

Bart looks at his persuasion skill and keeps on watching all the Bus occupants like a stern Catholic nun holding a mean looking yardstick...

The Kid takes off his hat and says, "Listen to the space knight and the iron lady folks. We're here to help you."

Persuasion Support: 1d4 ⇒ 1
Wild: 1d6 ⇒ 4

We are from the government and we are here to help you.

Tocash backs off and lets the others do the talking.

As it stands right now, your best Persuader is Barbara with her d6+1, followed by Terry with a d6. Barbara can move fast enough to be there to do the main roll or Terry can do it, but it looks like Kid was only trying to support giving whichever one of you wants to roll the Persuasion roll a +1. Also remember, except for Kid and his crew, none of you are wearing Legion uniforms.

"Government? Which government would that be? You don't look Coalition and if you were Federation, you would have let the cannibals have their way and then picked up the pieces. So again, which government?

"Terry mis-spoke. We are members of the Legion - we were doing undercover work on our last op, so we're not wearing our uniforms. Terry thinks the Legion's organization and power makes it a 'government'. What can we do to convince you?

I'd assume carrying Legion ID cards would be kind of stupid, in case we were ever searched...
I can't remember why we aren't in uniform, the "undercover op" was just to make everyone feel at ease.

I think Terry was just being funny , thus the OOC. :) I laughed because I actually work for the government... state, but it still counts. :)

I don't think I merit the +1, because I'm completely encased in power armor, so I don't get the benefit of my dazzling girl-next-door appearance.

Barbara closes ground in the glittery armor and turns on her exterior mic.

"This glitter armor isn't just for show," she says. "Our team's been dispatched to help liberate people from the Coalition, and to prevent them from taking any more captives. We also have latitude to take opportunity events to prevent other attacks and aid refugees, and that's what we're doing."

Persuasion: 1d6 ⇒ 4
Wild die: 1d6 ⇒ 3

Dirty Dave speaks up after hearing Barbara try to calm the merchants and their guards, "That iron lady is one fine woman if I do say so myself. She'll make you hotter than a June bride sitting bare backed on a depot stove. At least, that is what I imagine since none of us have had the privilege of actually seeing her outside her armor..."

One of the merchants comes forward, motioning for the remaining guards to lower their weapons. "You did help us out with those raiders and I saw what you," he nods at Burgurk, "did to their leader. If you meant to harm us, you would have. That said, I am also not naive enough to think anything is free in this world. For your help, we have a load of tech gear that are willing to part with, to help fund our continued survival." He pauses and looks at the Glitter Girl and back to the Kid. "Be that as it may, that armor carries a lot of weight with it, wherever it goes." He then orders the rest of his helpers to unload some of the gear from the pack animals to show you. It mostly amounts to parts and pieces to repair electronic items and a few spare E-clips. In this world, both are very valuable.

I don't know why I ignored the OOC.

So, who's for taking the noble "It our job, we don't expect any reward" route? 12,000 divided by...6? ways doesn't buy very much in RIFTS, anyways...

My typical response would be to tell these folks if they really want to do that, they should donate it to the Legion so that we can keep performing these kinds of rescue operations.

The Kid puts his hat back on and says, "Let me have a look at your E-clips, I'm sure we can put them to good use."

Terry whistles softly.
The E clips will come in handy, but if you want to really help, donate it to the legion wo we can continue to fund rescue operations like this.

he pauses

But don't take my word, take his as he is the boss. Terry points at Burgurk