What is the -1 Fatigue mean in game terms? Still not well versed in SW mehcanics
It basically works the same as a Wound--you apply a -1 penalty to all Trait rolls for the duration of the Fatigue. The nice thing with Fatigue is that it's easier to get over, though--simply resting gets rid of the condition, whereas Wounds need quick treatment or a long recovery period.
Okay, I'll use the benny, Also makes it simpler since I don't have to retcon Borax's actions.
Hey guys, this is a blanket notice going out to all of my games here on the boards. While I am thankfully outside the path of Hurricane Harvey, current projections for Hurricane Irma are sending it barreling up the coast of Florida to sweep much of the eastern coast of the United States. As I live directly on the ocean, I'm already gearing up for a potential evacuation at the moment. While hopefully all I get is a lot of rainfall, it's likely that by the time Irma hits Maryland it will still be at least a Category 3 storm, if not worse. I will have my laptop and such in the case of an evacuation, but I likely won't be able to post with any real schedule or frequency. Moreover, given that I live more or less directly on the ocean, it's more likely than not that if I'm forced to evacuate there will not be a home for me to come back to after the storm passes. The island is not built to withstand that kind of storm, and the last time something anywhere near that deadly swept through, it made an inlet where there used to be a road. My point being, if I'm hit by the hurricane it's very likely I will be off the boards for a long while, or at least my posting will be sparse and intermittent.
I'm sure I'm not the only one following the storm on the news, but I'll do my best to keep everyone updated on my status. It's likely the storm, if it hits me at all, will make landfall here early next week. If you see on the news that the storm has hit Maryland and you don't hear from me, that's probably why. I just wanted to put this message up now as I'm prone to losing power during storms and I didn't want to leave anyone hanging.
Thanks for understanding,
Jon
Be safe. I'm in Orlando as I type. Hoping I can get out on Friday.
Did you manage to get out of Orlando? If not, I hope you're staying safe.
Also, you all have (presumably silenced) handguns in your luggage. Any small melee weapons are also fine, as long as they could conceivably fit in a suitcase. A hatchet is probably the largest thing you could realistically carry, but I believe that's the biggest you guys use anyway. At the moment you aren't wearing any body armor, although you do have concealable vests in with your luggage. They give +2 Armor, but do not have the normal bulletproof quality of military-grade Kevlar vests. You can take the time to put them on if you wish.
Yeah, Rosa is definitely putting on her vest.
We got out without incident. Flew Delta. I have to say I prefer them over all the other major airlines.
Glad that you're safe.
Seconded on that, glad you got out without any trouble. For my part, the storm appears to have veered far away from me and is headed farther inland (i.e. going inland at all) and so it's unlikely I'll get anything more than a heavy storm. Current tracks for Jose show it heading for me about a week from now, but I believe the maximum sustained wind speed is expected to be around 85 MPH at that point, which isn't too bad at all. It is possible I'll lose power for a day or two because the electrical system on the island is... bad. However, no major damage is expected.
As for airlines, I can't really comment. I've never flown any of the major airlines. My father is afraid of heights, and hasn't flown on a plane since there was a malfunction and they had to open up the floor panels next to him to manually release the landing gear. He told me they had fire trucks lining the runway. So, I never flew on a plane until I traveled abroad in college.
I've only ever flown WOW Airlines, which is an Icelandic airline. Dirt cheap flights, although I'll admit the color of the uniforms is atrocious. I learned that Icelanders refer to it as 'Innri kisa bleikur', which I'll... let you plug into Google Translate for yourselves.
Glad that you're safe.
Thanks.
Oh, I forgot to mention this when it came up earlier, but a collapsible baton should be an acceptable melee weapon, yes? Carrying a large combat knife when we're undercover seems like it would be out of character for Rosa.
Just wanted to clarify with GM. When Jacob was in the trance, did he continue to talk or was he totally silent and glassy eyed?
To you, completely glassy eyed.
Also, I was waiting to see if anyone had an addendum or change to Borax's plan. If you do, go ahead and post it, but if not I'll move us along tomorrow following his plan, okay?
Jacob, you don't have the supplies to build any sort of true concussion mine, but you might be able to scrounge together something for an improvised explosive. There are fire extinguishers which you could possibly rig up if you had the right tools. Roll Notice to find what you'd need to make the bomg (things like a trip wire, something to pierce the extinguisher, etc.) and then roll Repair. I would give you a penalty, but as an ex-IRA member making improvised explosives was kind of your bread and butter.
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Before I do so I wanted to discuss the odd possibility that the ones to walk out of the room might be brainwashed civvies.
With that out of the way I will try to create the least possible lethal device, minimum shrapnel for example, trusting the pressure inside the extinguisher to 'stun' the greys or the civvies instead of turning the hall into Chunky Salsa Paradise.
Also, I got the McGyver edge, just in case it helps lessen the penalties.
I realized the stats for this monster were in the collection of stuff I lost earlier in the game, so I had to re-write its stat block. Not a huge deal, but it took just enough time that I just don't have the energy to post right now. I'll get to this tomorrow, I just know it'll be long and I haven't had the time to sit down and write another long post.
I've been traveling for two days, but I'm here now! Sorry it took so long.
When it comes to attacking the aliens, it's pretty simple. Ranged attacks are as normal, but given all the people on the train we're using the Innocent Bystander rolls. So, if you happen to roll a 1 or 2... well, let's just say spending a Benny might be a good plan. Melee, just assume you can close in on any of them. The cramped quarters makes it hard to bunch up on them, but you can manage it.
Those in the train car with Tentacle Head, you're taking a -1 on all rolls due to its psionic influence. Rosa, you're specifically taking a -2 for the next round because it's focusing on you. It's a reflexive action, but at the moment the creature is Shaken.
Did I not describe this well enough, or are you unsure of what to do or something? If you need more from me let me know, but you guys are starting first in this combat because of surprise.
Good luck with the exams, Jacob!
Hopefully I got the rolls right - this is my first combat post, I think. If something is wrong do let me know, but in general, Richard is charging forward and butchering. Is there a way to do nonlethal damage?
Sorry, been busy prepping for baby's baptism on sunday.
Naomi wants to drop the closest one with two to the chest and one to the head, not sure how to account for that in the dice numbers, though
Not sure what weapon I have.
You would have a standard pistol of some sort. You can pick any of the pistols listed in the core book, they're all similar to one another. I expect some people will have more rounds and some will have more stopping power, so whichever you prefer.
Naomi, that would be the way to go about this, yeah. Once Borax figures out which pistol he wants and posts (Borax, you can actually shoot twice as you specified shooting but never rolled) I'll go ahead and move us forward, as I think that's all I'm waiting on.
Gotta say, I'm gonna go Desert Eagle and a survival knife. I'd like have a Glock 9 as well, but don't know how realistic that is.
Gotta say, I'm gonna go Desert Eagle and a survival knife. I'd like have a Glock 9 as well, but don't know how realistic that is.
In retrospect, a survival knife would be too difficult to conceal, so I'll say that the survival knife is normally stored in one of my bags, but I'll keep a switchblade or butterfly knife on me personally.
Hey, so I'm just letting you know I'm still around. I had a lot of stuff prevent me from posting regularly, but I intended to update this today. That said, the stupid bug on the Paizo forums logged me out twice today in the middle of editing a post and it went away. I'll get a post up tomorrow, promise. It happened in another game too, which I'll also get to tomorrow. I'm irritated with it, but I'll make this work tomorrow.
Yes, rolled out new code for aomething, and it seems to have broken the log-in features somewhat.
Tech folks are working to repair, no eta for completion last i checked (Fri afternoon).
I'm imagining it's because sometimes you need to fit in a square peg, when the current hole is round. There might be some fun new feature, though!
Man, sometimes I hate this website...
Richard, one thing to note; additional raises on your attack do not add more damage on your attack. I'm not sure if that's actually what you did because the rolls are a little confusing to me, but I wanted to mention it. You do deal an extra d6 of damage, however, if you get a Raise on their Parry. Also, you can ace on your damage die. You rolled an 8 on your damage on one hit and did not roll extra. You killed the alien anyway, just wanted to mention it.
Poke.
A heads up for all my games; I'm going to be camping from Monday to Wednesday, so I won't be able to post. I should have Internet on my phone, but posting from my phone is a real chore (even ignoring the logout issue I still have on mobile) so I will be silent for a few days. I may keep up if I can get Paizo to reliably work on my phone, but if not I'll catch up when I get back.
I tried to post the day after Jacob and it failed, and then I thought I posted around ten days ago. I've been waiting on you guys and went to post just to get you guys to respond... only to find out I've been waiting 10 days for nothing.
Yeah this site goes through fits and spurts sometimes...no worries here.
It does have its downsides, true enough.
I should've said something in Discussion, I guess, but I imagined people are pretty busy over the coming holidays.
I assumed that Jacob and I will pursuit, given that we are two rather quick individuals. I attacked the window, so Jacob can run in first and catch up with it.
I wasn't assuming that train windows were inherently hard to break, I more meant it would take some time to clear it out enough to safely get through the window; you could just smash a hole and jump through, but that runs the risk of seriously slicing yourself up on the glass. I made the assumption train windows were not designed to shatter completely with one blow, as I figured that would make them too weak to really stop anything from breaking through them into a train.
As for air transport, you were intended to ride the train the entire way to the town. You could request a helicopter of some sort, perhaps, but then you'd need to cover why a helicopter is landing outside this small town. However, you could possibly call a helicopter to pick up the bodies before the passengers wake up, and then ride from there. You'd just need to explain the hole in the window at the front of the train. You could also stash the bodies and do a field autopsy once you're there. If you want to call for a chopper and ride into the town that way, be my guest, although that will present some social challenges you'll need to overcome in order to not arouse suspicion. I'm going to give you all a chance to change or stick to that plan, now that you know the potential consequences.
my original thought is to get the bodies off the train by either simply dumping them in the field, or putting them into the meat locker and disconnecting the car with the meat locker. Then, have a helicopter come and pick up the bodies and take them back to our base for an autopsy if necessary.
Not sure how we clean up the blood and the bullet holes. Might be better to have the whole car disappear and blow it up/burn it to remove evidence.
If the team was off the train, I figure we walk to the nearest town and get a taxi.
I think our next course of action also depends on where the little guy leads us.
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I am partial to the 'following the escaping ayylmao and nailing him' as already stated, but Borax plan does sound solid and I am worried Richard and I might end facing the bugger and his extraction team.
So as of right now, I am completely unsure on what to do. Will post tonight, but I'd appreciate more opinions.
I'm not sure we get any benefit if we kill the runner before he finds home. We've already taken out their scouting party, so it's not like killing the last guy stops him from sounding the alarm.
Honestly, there's no way to know how the aliens are going to react to what we did on the train. My thought is that now, we try and short cut the mission and get to their base directly. With Makeba and David following, if we find a base, we can all head straight to it and maybe get lucky.
I also don't see how we clean up the train beyond removing the bodies. We don't have time to do any type of repairs or remove blood stains. As long as there are no aliens and dead humans on the train, no one will be able to figure out what happened. Probably better that we aren't on it when it arrives. I'm assuming the tickets are nameless and there is no passenger list.
My goal was to at least call in a helicopter to take the bodies and possible the doctor if he needs to do quick autopsies and then follow after the tracking party.
Score one more vote in the 'Shhh... I'm huntin' x-rays' camp. Both me and Jacob are decent at sneaking, so it shouldn't be much of a problem of finding out where it's going.
Regarding the train, Richard would happily shove that to the "People in the stars." to let them smoothen things over and cover evidence.
We'll need Jacob to stay with the train and help us to get it moving and possibly decouple some of the cars. Naomi has essentially the same tracking skills.
I don't think you've thought this plan all the way through.
I'm not sure there's any value to going after the last alien. We already have bodies to autopsy and we likely can't communicate enough to interrogate it. And I seriously doubt that their base is in walking distance of the train. It's most likely going for a pickup in a ship of some kind. Killing it to buy more time before any of its allies catch on to our presence has some value, but that's it. Plus there's no guarantee we can even keep up with the thing or that we'd make it back to the train before it starts again if we don't find anything. Which means we'd be gambling the entire mission on the very unlikely chance that the alien leisurely walks back to their base without trying to lose us and that the base is within walking distance at all.
Dumping the bodies off the train and calling HQ to send a helicopter to collect them before anyone finds them is probably possible, but we don't need to disconnect the train cars to do that. We can just find a box to stuff them in and pour in some ice from the dining car. We'll need to make sure HQ has GPS coordinates of the location where we dumped the boxes so they can get here fast, but that's easily doable with modern communication technology. However, we have maybe half an hour until the train starts moving again, so there's no guarantee they'll get to us before we're moving again, so we need to take that into consideration.
We also need the doctor with us for our actual mission, so unless we're planning to scrap the entire mission we can't send him back with the bodies, so we're going to have to wait on the autopsies until we're done hunting the missing kids.
Additionally, disconnecting the cars is likely to create more problems than it could solve. The dining car is definitely not the last car on the train and all of the missing cars would be noticed, assuming the crew doesn't recognize that they're detached as soon as the train starts moving again, which is quite likely. Which will get people specifically looking for the missing cars and them finding more evidence. All trying to detach the cars will do is draw more attention to them since people will be looking for them.
I actually have thought it through, but have not bothered to cover every single contingency and I'm still trying to piece together the specifics of where on the train we fought the aliens.
We are in make believe-land. The sufficiency of any course of action is entirely dependent on the base assumptions going in e.g. whether a helicopter is available, how quickly do the bodies deteriorate, how fast do you think a short legged alien can move, and a plethora of others.
Disconnecting train cars is only necessary if certain things are true:
1) We absolutely need to preserve the bodies in cold storage. That wasn't my idea, but I was trying to support someone else who suggested it. And, do we even know that there is any dining car or cold storage?
2) We need to keep the alien thing from being discovered by the public. I'm assuming we are trying to keep things under wraps to prevent a public panic. But maybe it's a non-issue. I have no idea how any real life investigation would go down if alien DNA were discovered, do you? So once again, I'm looking for feed back from the GM on whether we care if a train car filled with purple blood rolls into the next train station. Because if we do, a terrorist attack on empty train cars is most likely going to cause far less public panic than scientist claiming alien DNA was discovered in a gun fight on a public train;
3) We can't sufficiently clean up the cars and it we might be better served to blow them up and destroy the evidence. Yes, someone will come looking for them and they'll find two burned up trained cars and no one will have the foggiest notion of what happened. It will take at least a month before an official report is out and it may take a year before there is any public report that a gunfight and alien DNA was discovered, assuming anyone bothers to look. Most likely, people will assume it's a terrorist act, but with no bodies and no victims, officials will be at a complete loss as to why it occurred. And with no loss of life, it's unlikely to cause too much freaking out.
But then I don't know which car we are in and how many cars we need to disconnect. I've also go not idea how likely something like this is going to be picked up by local media. But if it is, even in the slightest amount, I'm pretty sure we'll have the Spook and his crew crawling all over town in a day. So I'm throwing it out there as a possible course of action and letting the GM provide feedback as to why we may or may not do such a thing.
If you have a better idea, then share it. But it's pretty easy to poke holes in any idea by simply claiming a different set of baseline circumstances.
I'm not sure there's any value to going after the last alien. We already have bodies to autopsy and we likely can't communicate enough to interrogate it. And I seriously doubt that their base is in walking distance of the train.
I have no idea how far their base is, but I'm not going to automatically assume we can't find it. If Makeba and David see it try and get into a craft, I'm pretty sure they'll know they need to shoot it. Even if they don't shoot it, it would help to know which direction the craft headed. And honestly, the real reason is that those two have high Stealth and Notice, so it's a chance to use their skills for a possible benefit. If we're really lucky, maybe one of them can board the craft unnoticed or throw a communicator stuck in the on-position on board.
We also need the doctor with us for our actual mission, so unless we're planning to scrap the entire mission we can't send him back with the bodies, so we're going to have to wait on the autopsies until we're done hunting the missing kids.
We are ostensibly bringing the doctor because we think he can diagnose the mind control effects that we assumed were in-play (and OOC, he's a conduit for the GM). But now we have two bodies of aliens who actually do the mind control. I would argue it makes far more sense for the doctor to study these aliens directly. If he can find a way to home in on the source of the mind-control rays or devise a way to reverse/neutralize the effects from the biology, seems a far better use of his efforts. If we find some specific thing we need him for, we can always have someone drive him into town.
Of course this is all based on my taking things at face value. Obviously if the GM doesn't plan on us being able to learn anything immediately useful from the dead aliens, that isn't knowable by my character.
We can just find a box to stuff them in and pour in some ice from the dining car. **** The dining car is definitely not the last car on the train and all of the missing cars would be noticed.....
Most commuter trains don't have dining cars. I did a brief search fo the train lines in Great Britain and most of them are HST's. Interesting and disgusting fact:
Legally in the UK, train operators are allowed to discharge up to 25 litres of untreated waste at a time on to the track
So, to address a few things:
1. Stein actually suggested putting them on ice originally, I believe. Rosa then expanded on the idea by figuring they would have boxes and such as well. I don't know that they'd have a 'dining car' in the sense of having a sit-down place to eat, but I know many trains at least have refreshments available... or at least, all the ones I've been on did. Presumably they'd have ice there to keep the bodies if you wanted. Perhaps this is not the case for most trains in England, but hey.
2/3. You do very much need to keep this under wraps, yes. However, maybe this is partially the fault of my own description. The alien blood is oddly colored—I believe I said purple?—and so leaving a stain or something behind is hardly as damning as human blood which would be far more noticeable. You could mop up the blood enough that if it was left behind someone could assume the staining on the tile is from something like a grape soda. You can't just leave it to pool because assuming it even behaves like human blood and clots, it clearly WOULDN'T be anything easily explainable. However, some quick clean up could take care of it well enough that someone likely wouldn't think twice and assume that it was probably a stain they missed when getting on the train. Also, as I remember, no one actually 'missed' a shot by the rules, so I'd say that any stray casings/bullets can be accounted for and cleaned up well enough. They hit under seats or in areas where the hole isn't immediately noticeable, let's say.
There's blood in both the car you guys are in (which is not the last car), and the front of the train where the train operator is. So, you can't really disconnect either car without leaving people behind or even preventing the train from moving in the first place. It's also unlikely that the doctor would be able to glean anything immediately; that doesn't really make sense, so it'd take some time for him to perform and glean things from the autopsy that could give you info.
I misunderstood your intention on the alien as well. Following it to see how it escapes makes more sense than assuming it would walk back to its base which is how I interpreted your earlier statement. Assuming it hasn't already absconded somehow, you could try to track how it escapes.
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In the future, feel free to ask me these kinds of questions. I can better explain things that you're unsure on, and you can always ask questions ('Can we clean this enough that it doesn't look like a shootout?' 'Where on the train are we, exactly?' 'How fast can a helicopter get here?') if you want to know the answer. I'll answer this kind of stuff if I feel you're reasonably able to know it, and if you don't it doesn't hurt to ask.
High Speed is not the word I'd use for them, considering I go with them twice a week.
Yeah, my thought was to keep the bugger in sight long enough to spot it's conveyance, or maybe drill it in the back of its head with a 9mm round.
As for the blood/bodies...questions and weird stains are one thing. Whole bodies of aliens are quite another. So long as we get the corpses out of sight and give folks some halfway reasonable answer for the damages, they won't really look twice.