GM Quirk's AGAINST THE AEON THRONE (Inactive)

Game Master Quirk, Private Eye

"What's this? Chiaiese takes the thing from Yoro to examine.

Engineering: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (14) + 14 = 28

Yoro grabs the small device, then climbs quickly down the ladder. He hands it to Chiaiese.

After a minute, the cage pops open. Several of the small creatures scamper down the pole and scatter, most running toward the largest building in the settlement (the garrison).

A few remain angry, bold, and aggressive. It is these that leap toward your group, ready to attack.

Round 1. Bold may go.

1. Chiaiese
2. Hobgar Orange
3. Sevens
4. Neap
5. Yoro
6. Hobgar black
7. Hobgar blue
8. Duncan
9. Hobgar red
10. Hobgar yellow
11. Thak

"Balls!" is all Chiaiese has time to say before the angry creatures rush at the group. She points her finger at {orange} and pulls the trigger.

Magic Missile: 3d4 + 3 ⇒ (1, 2, 3) + 3 = 9

Oh no...that poor hobgar never stood a chance.

Chiaiese's magic missiles ravage the creature, and it quietly falls over and expires.

I would like to share a quick, funny story (though, as I write this, it is also somewhat sad). Around these parts, we had a much-loved GM that many of us spent hours playing with. I had known Curt since I was about 9 or 10 when we played baseball each summer.

As adults, we came across each other again at the local game store about the time 3rd edition D&D was out, and spent several hours together at our bi-weekly game.

Mild-mannered, jolly Curtis had but one quirk--he absolutely HATED the spell magic missile. I suppose he thought it was an uncreative crutch that every wizard brought out at least once at EVERY battle. I believe there came a point where it was outlawed at his table.

I certainly do not share Curt's hatred of the spell--after all, even a low-level wizard should be able to have a spell that virtually any enemy could be damaged with.

Tragically, we lost Curt to COVID last year. I am in possession of a few of his gaming items, as his family had a "gamer garage sale" this past summer. The proceeds from this sale will go to support gaming programs for kids in this area.

Round 1. Bold may go.

1. Chiaiese
2. Hobgar Orange (dead)
3. Sevens
4. Neap
5. Yoro
6. Hobgar black
7. Hobgar blue
8. Duncan
9. Hobgar red
10. Hobgar yellow
11. Thak

Sorry for your loss, GM. I totally get the feeling toward magic missile. One can imagine Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson working out wizards... "Magic Users are awesome... at 5th level. How do we get someone to want to play one before that?"

Yoromishtali goans. Despite outnumbering the hobgars, he feels like the creatures are their equal. He takes four quick steps yelling, "Grrraaah!" then swings his doshko at the closest hobgar (yellow).

Attack vs KAC: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6
Damage if needed: 1d12 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6

Round 1: move action: move 10'
Standard action: Melee attack

Thanks for sharing GM! Those are good memories I'm sure.

Curt sounds like he was one of the good ones, and I hope his memory can live on in the gaming programs y'all are supporting. 'No magic missile!'

Sevens had never been fully up-to-date on the various flora and fauna of Nakondis - an oversight of their own making - and finds the behavior of the hobgars to be oddly unsettling, putting some distance between themself and the creatures as the more aggressive hobgars start attacking.

Following the example of their new companions Sevens lifts their laser rifle and takes a shot.

Round 1 Actions -
Move back towards Chiaiese (10 feet?)
Shooting at Blue

Laser Rifle vs KAC: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 3 = 17
Laser Damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

Keeping space enough that there would be a slight difficulty in attacking, Neap fires off a ball of water at the closest, quite intent on not getting shocked.
__________________________
Moving to keep the lead in the edge of range (20' away), TK projectile.
Atk?: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 2 = 12,Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 1

The little hobgars seem to have a knack for running circles around Yoro. His doshko just isn't quick enough to catch up to the little guy.

On the other hand, you can't outrun a laser beam. Sevens points his weapon, strikes true, and incinerates one of the things.

Neap uses his magic and manages to annoy one of the hobgars, who hisses and presses his attack. It rushes Neap, hissing and biting all the way!

black to hit vs. Neap: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 1 = 21
damage: 1d4 ⇒ 3
crit damage: 1d4 ⇒ 3

Owww! That's gotta sting!

Round 1. Bold may go.

1. Chiaiese
2. Hobgar Orange (dead)
3. Sevens
4. Neap (-6)
5. Yoro
6. Hobgar black (-1)
7. Hobgar blue (DEAD)
8. Duncan
9. Hobgar red
10. Hobgar yellow
11. Thak

Duncan advances on the hobgar confronting Neap to help kill it or drive it toward the garrison. He brandishes his sword cane, but just as he gets close, he distracts it with a gadget that sends sparks crackle across a short gap between electrodes.

Trick Attack, Engineering using gadgets: 1d20 + 10 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 10 + 4 = 31 [DC = 20 + target's CR]
Success = Trick Attack Damage: 1d4 ⇒ 1 + target is flat-footed against the attack (-2 to AC). Damage only applies if attack hits.
Sword Cane, vs KAC: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6
Damage, P: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

The distraction works fine, but he does not make an effective attack with the sword cane blade. "Scram, ya varmint!"

The hobgars seem to be in a foul mood. They aren't at all bothered by Duncan yelling at them.

In fact, two of the creatures harass Yoro. One climbs up his leg and reaches for his comm device.

to hit: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 1 = 11

Yoro is able to kick the creature off before he can reach for his pocket.

The other hobgar is a little more "in your face." It opts to simply bite Yoro.

t0 hit: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 1 = 14
damage: 1d4 ⇒ 2
Hit!

Round 1. Bold may go.

1. Chiaiese
2. Hobgar Orange (dead)
3. Sevens
4. Neap (-6)
5. Yoro (-2)
6. Hobgar black (-1)
7. Hobgar blue (DEAD)
8. Duncan
9. Hobgar red
10. Hobgar yellow
11. Thak

“Geez, I hate these things.”

Pulsecaster vs Yellow EAC: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 = 13
Damage: 1d4 ⇒ 4 Electrical

Round 2. Bold may go.

1. Chiaiese
2. Hobgar Orange (dead)
3. Sevens
4. Neap (-6)
5. Yoro (-2)
6. Hobgar black (-1)
7. Hobgar blue (DEAD)
8. Duncan
9. Hobgar red
10. Hobgar yellow (-4)
11. Thak

Chiaiese saves her last spell and draws her survival knife, then moves forward to support Yoro, somehow.

BAB = 0, so move and draw weapon as a standard action

Yoromishtali takes a quick swing with his doshko against the other hobgar, trying to keep the attention of the two creatures on him. He takes a well-balanced step backward.

Attack vs red's KAC: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22
Damage if needed: 1d12 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

The shock was deeply unpleasant. Neap disliked it because it threatend their control over their hydrobody, irregular control causing the shape to deform in the armor briefly before it was wrested back under control. An arm whipped out at an odd angle, the cestus on the end of the appendage missing widely due to the incomplete control, extending too far and at a sudden sharp angle.
_________________________________
Atk@black: 1d20 ⇒ 5

Yoro gives one of the hobgars a punishing blow, causing it to hiss and recoil from the vesk warrior. It now seems uncertain whether to press the attack.

Though it's not dead yet...

Sevens may go.

Botting Sevens.

Sevens brings his laser rifle to bear on one of the hobgars near Yoro (red).

to hit: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9
damage: 1d8 ⇒ 8

Miss.

The hobgar near Duncan and Neap leaps onto Duncan. He's attempting to get something out of his pocket.

sleight of hand: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18

The hobgar squeals with delight as it finds Duncan's personal comm unit.

It also steps away.

standard action to use sleight of hand, move action to take a guarded step.

Round 2. Bold may go.

1. Chiaiese
2. Hobgar Orange (dead)
3. Sevens
4. Neap (-6)
5. Yoro (-2)
6. Hobgar black (-1)
7. Hobgar blue (DEAD)
8. Duncan
9. Hobgar red
10. Hobgar yellow (-4)
11. Thak

Duncan moves aggressively at the wounded Hobgar, hoping to wound it enough to drive it toward the garrison. He sets off one of his gadgets to create a strobe effect, to distract it. The distraction did not work, but he still found an opening to exploit with his sword cane.

Time ta bolt, ya glaikit chancer!

Trick Attack, Engineering using gadgets: 1d20 + 10 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 10 + 4 = 20 [DC = 20 + target's CR]
Success = Trick Attack Damage: 1d4 ⇒ 3 + target is flat-footed against the attack (-2 to AC).

Sword Cane, vs KAC: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19
Damage, P: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Duncan inflicts a dreadful, bleeding wound upon one of the hobgars. It scampers away, closely followed by the other nearby hobgar.

Duncan, you may take an aoo on red if you would like. Oh..."glaikit chancer?"

Round 2/3. Bold may go.

1. Chiaiese
2. Hobgar Orange (dead)
3. Sevens
4. Neap (-6)
5. Yoro (-2)
6. Hobgar black (-1)
7. Hobgar blue (DEAD)
8. Duncan
9. Hobgar red (-5)
10. Hobgar yellow (-4)
11. Thak

Thak shifts his position and aims at the thieving hob gar.

“Drop that communicator!”

Pulsecaster vs black EAC: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23 Crit!
Damage: 1d4 ⇒ 2 Electrical
Crit damage: 1d4 ⇒ 3 Electrical

5 total electrical damage

Chiaiese stabs at one of the little critters with her knife.

Attack: 1d20 ⇒ 13
Damage: 1d4 ⇒ 1

The remaining hobgar stands holding his communicator victoriously.

Well...at least until Thak shoots him with his pulsecaster.

The hobgar drops, though he'll be fine. The other two hobgars scamper off toward the garrison to hide.

COMBAT OVER. More tomorrow. Feel free to role play any planning.

Holding off on taking another shot, Sevens carefully examines their rifle before holstering it. Two shots, one hit, one miss, not quite enough data to make a comment on their marksmanship.

"Strange creatures. Do we follow them?"

Quick reminder: Yoro found some sort of electronic device up in the hobgar trap. Chiaiese may have made at least some sort of identification of it--it appears to be a medical device of some sort. Perhaps Aibretta may know more. It may be a good idea to check in back at the workshop.

Glaikit chancer, according to some research I've done on Scottish slang translates roughly to "stupid-looking trickster."

Duncan let the wounded beastie run away and pester the Azlanti instead. He wiped his blade clean, sheathed it, and drew his semi-auto pistol as he moved away from the garrison and toward Aibretta's place.

"Let's gan back ta the shop an' plan oor attack on the garrison! We should strike afore the Azlanti realize most o' their soldiers are naw longer keepin' the colony shut doon."

Yoromishtali watches the hobgars run off with a brief exhalation of relief. No fun fighting those creatures, he thinks. He wipes the doshko's teeth clean then.

The vesk nods in agreement with Duncan. "Yes, let's go back to the base, refresh our bandages, devise a plan, attack, and improvise to their counterattack. Besides me and Neap, anybody get hurt?"

Thak watches the hobgar crumple, then looks around for any remaining strays. Cubber peers out of his pocket and growls toward the fleeing creatures.

“You said it. I don’t like ‘em either, buddy.”

With the coast clear, Thak picks up Duncan’s dropped comm unit, dusts it off, and hands it back. “It looks good. I don’t think it’s worse for wear.”

”Let's gan back ta the shop an' plan oor attack on the garrison! We should strike afore the Azlanti realize most o' their soldiers are naw longer keepin' the colony shut doon.”

“Agreed. And we can show Yoro’s little medical find to Aibretta. Maybe she’ll know more about it.”

He scratches behind Cubber’s ears. The squox purrs happily, then climbs out to sit on his shoulder.

”Yes, let's go back to the base, refresh our bandages, devise a plan, attack, and improvise to their counterattack. Besides me and Neap, anybody get hurt?”

Thak winces as he sees Yoro and Neap’s wounds.

“I’m sorry about that. I got so caught up fighting off those crazy hobgars that I forgot to keep an eye on you. I could’ve healed you during the fight. But it looks like you’ll recover quickly."

A positive gesture was given from Neap, the injuries on the body smoothing over, though that does not necessarily mean the damage was undone. The gesture of waving off the concern expressed was calm and at least confident. It was concluded with a thumbs-up from the watery body that they resided in. They did look at the others, to make sure that there was no significant damage done, and as long as everyone was able to move under their own power, no action needed to be taken.

Aibretta is pleased to see all of you, and desires to get a full report. When you let her know that you had to kill a few of the hobgars, she confides that she thinks Madelon should be humanely doing away with more of the hobgars that are trapped. Instead, he uses the settlement's hovertrikes to drag the trap out into the forest before letting go of all of the hobgars in the trap.

When you show her the odd medical device Yoro found in the trap, she squeals with delight. "Ludvar is going to be so happy! This is his voice!" She goes on to tell you that Ludvar Cresk is the settlement's engineer in charge of maintaining and siting all of the prefabricated buildings, and that he suffered serious chemical burns in an industrial accident back in the Pact Worlds.

More tomorrow (Saturday)

Yoromishtali runs one finger's clawed tip against the horn spikes lining his lower jaw. "Those hobgars. They're almost reason enough to colonize a different planet. Well, not really," he adds with a laugh. "I don't know how much satisfaction they get doing what they do, but I get more satisfaction in not backing down from them."

"Well getting shocked from time to time by hobgars isn't so bad if it helps people. I guess Ludvar is held captive too?"

Aibretta replies to Yoro. "No, no...Ludvar is probably at his place, just around the corner. He'd probably appreciate having this back. Maybe it's time for all of you to meet him. Blue pre-fab, just follow our lane to the left after you go out our backdoor. Take him these muffins. There's enough for all of you as well."

Not that she would ever admit it, but Chiaiese was holding out for the food. She helpfully scoops up the muffins and munches the delicious doughy treat as if no one is watching.

"I admit I'm a little tired after all this action. Might we overnight before the assault, or is time of the essence?"

"Ah, Ludvar sounds like the perfect one to ask concerning the floor plan for the building. He might have suggestions for our assault too," Yoromishtali says. The vesk delicately takes a muffin with his claw tips. He savors the smell before biting the top half.

"I like the idea of resting for the night," Yoromishtali adds, nodding at Chiaiese.

"Hae any o' ya wha hae been livin' under the Azlanti thoomb detected a time when they seem ta be mostly at ease? We should attack when they're mostly asleep. Catch 'em in their jim jams."

Duncan helps himself to a muffin.

Never being one to pass up offered food, Thak happily snags a muffin. He listens to the conversation as eats.

”Hae any o' ya wha hae been livin' under the Azlanti thoomb detected a time when they seem ta be mostly at ease? We should attack when they're mostly asleep. Catch 'em in their jim jams.”

“An excellent idea, Duncan. Mmmmmm. No sense giving them any extra benefit. Oh yeah, this muffin is delicious! I was hungrier than I thought. What's a good time to hit the garrison? Are there any more muffins?”

GM Q: What time of day is it? I’m afraid I completely lose track.

"How about three in the morning?" Yoromishtali suggests. "Usually guards are sleepy around that time. Plus I think we will have a better chance of success if our magically-inclined have a chance to rest and recover their energy."

I thought it was about 5 pm.

"It will be good to give back to Ludvar. He has been nice to me." Sevens says with the barest hint of...relief, perhaps? Emotions were complicated things sometimes.

Taking a muffin for themselves Sevens is content to savor the smell of freshly baked goods for a moment as they contemplate the possibility of an unorthodox assault.

"Night or early morning could give an advantage; beyond fatigue or tiredness, night can provide good cover. Vision could be an issue, are any of you able to see in the dark?" They ask before finally taking a small bite of their muffin.

Delicious.

Yes, late afternoon/early evening right now.

-AT LUDVAR'S PRE-FAB ABODE-

A knock on the back door elicits a cautious response from the resident here. First there is quiet, and then finally footsteps from inside.

The door opens, and a human man waves you in. He remains partially behind the door, shrouded in the dimly lit pre-fab shelter.

Once inside, you see an older gentleman. His face shows evidence of horrible burns from long ago. Though there has been reconstructive surgery, there remains significant scarring.

He taps out a message on his data pad and turns it toward you. It says "Aibretta told me about you folks. Welcome."

He cracks a friendly, though misshapen, smile and shows you to a couch and several kitchen chairs.

So if the people who need to recharge their spells go to sleep soon, they'd get a full eight hours by our attack time?

"Thank you for welcoming us into your home," Yoromishtali says with a polite bow. "My name is Yoromishtali, originally from Vesk-3, now living on Absalom Station. Some of us came to resupply the colony and found the Azlanti here."

He sits on a kitchen chair and takes out his comm. "I'm just going to take notes," he adds as he waits for the others to introduce themselves and get settled. "We're planning an assault on the garrison and hope you can answer a few questions about the building."

Thak smiles as Yoro jumps straight from introductions to business. Ah, Vesks… all work and no play.

He puts a paw on Yoro’s shoulder to gently get his attention and then steps forward with a smile and a slight bow.

“I’m Thak, and this is Cubber,” who chooses this moment to unleash a brain-rattling yap into Thak’s ear. ”Ow… um… Cubber, calm down."

Gathering himself, Thak continues. "Uh, Aibretta tells us that we found your ‘voice’. Yoro rescued it from the hobgars, and I believe our tech experts gave it a good testing for you. Sevens? Chasey?”

Engineering: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (6) + 9 = 15

"Hello Ludvar. It is good to see you are safe." Sevens greets the older man, pulling the retrieved device from within their coat and giving Chiaiese an opportunity to double check the device before returning it.

"It's scuffed, but should be no worse for wear. If not, these are very capable people, you'll be speaking again soon." There's an attempt at friendly inflection as the device is handed off followed by one of Aibretta's muffins.

Ludvar smiles and excitedly types out another message on his datapad. It reads "Thank you. I'll take it. I have repaired it before. Do I smell muffins?"

Yes, doing a long rest soon will allow for an early dawn assault on the garrison.

Duncan engages Ludvar in some shop talk about gadgets. He inquires how the device works.

He keeps an eye on the time, though, thoughtful about his need for rest and knowing the fellow probably doesn't want a bunch of folk talking his ear off.

I apologize for my absence - RL... I hope this post makes sense in context, if I am following the thread.

Engineering: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (15) + 16 = 31

Chiaiese accepts the voice box from Sevens and has a closer look. She then pulls out her tool kit and makes a couple adjustments before handing it back to Ludvar. "There you go, better than new."

Yoromishtali thinks, How should I know what you are smelling?

After a moment, he turns his head towards the basket and back to Ludvar. "Yes! Indeed, we bring muffins courtesy of Aibretta. Please help yourself."

Ludvar accepts the repaired voice module from Chiaiese and Sevens. Looking at the apparatus, and then at Chiaiese, he uses a strap to attach it to himself. His voice is at first distorted, then begins to come in clearly as he makes adjustments via his data pad.

"Thank you all very much. I think those of us in the settlement that have an inkling of what you all have been doing now have a sense of optimism about the future of this place, along with rescuing anyone who might still be in that garrison across the way."

With that, Ludvar indicates he has something to show all of you. "There is a barn on the other side of the settlement that holds all of our hovertrikes. The invaders have not been able to get them started. THIS is the reason..."

Ludvar places a pouch on his table. Inside are starter bolts from all of the hovertrikes. Any of you with any engineering knowledge would know that it would take an amazing feat of ingenuity to bypass the starter bolt and get a hovertrike going.

"If it ends up you have a use for the hovertrikes, let me know. I'll keep these hidden in the rafters over my kitchen." He points to a corner over his stove.

"Ah. That explains much." Sevens says with what they hope is the right amount of inflection. They're impressed at how many and a little surprised the invaders had not bought in an engineer/mechanic of their own. In any case, an advantage was an advantage.

They looked to the others. "If the invaders have made no attempt to repair the hovertrikes, it's likely they have little presence where they are kept, if any. Would they be useful for attacking the garrison?"

Yoromishtali looks to where Ludvar is pointing. He steps over there and investigates where the starter bolts will be."That's good to know. If we need them, we know where to find them."

He looks at Sevens, over his shoulder as he reaches inside the secret place for the starter bolts. "Do you mean have the hovertrikes lead some of them away on a chase?"