Godlike: A Bridge Too Far (Inactive)

Game Master Douglas Muir 406

You can't hear the details... but Murphy can. Murphy's magical ears can hear everything.

He turns to you and whispers, "The tow pilots don't want to give us more than another minute. That'll almost take them to the coast, and they don't want to get near the coast."

Objectively, by the grim calculus of war, this is reasonable. The coast will surely be guarded by anti-aircraft guns. Why risk two targets instead of one? Still... will another sixty seconds of towing be enough?

Zindel: 6d10 ⇒ (4, 9, 6, 9, 4, 9) = 41 2 10s and 3 9s! Okay: another minute will get you over the coast, and you won't land in the water. You'll still land well short of your landing zone (LZ), though. You'll drop in unknown territory, with at least a couple of kilometers to hike to reach the bridge.

-- Good enough. As long as we're not in the water, we'll manage.
-- Not good enough! We need to [do something]

What say you?

Is Zindel informing us of any of this? Otherwise we logically would have no part in this "conversation".

Is Zindel informing us of any of this? Otherwise we logically would have no part in this "conversation".

I would assume so! Zindel is no dummy, and your input could be relevant.

"I sink we can manage with zis, best not to push our luck." Damian will say giving his 2 cents

Setting a parameter here, unless it would lead to a good RP experience, is not feasible/reasonable, or has personal implications, Zindel would share the information with the platoon. He may not love being limited to the speed of speaking vs the speed of his thoughts, but he recognizes the importance of sharing info!

"I can navigate from de ground. Not ideal, but acceptable parameters." He clears his throat a couple of times, and then his accent changes; sounding like a high born Italian, perhaps in preparation for the incoming mission. "We're not going to land where we intended to, but at least it won't be in the ocean."

Okay then! So, after sixty seconds, the tow plane releases you. It immediately banks hard right and starts climbing, clawing for altitude. It's almost as if it wants to get out of that airspace as fast as possible...

Which, go figure! Everything is fine.

For about ten seconds. And then SOMEONE TURNS THE LIGHTS ON

In Africa, you got accustomed to not thinking much of the Italians. Their morale was very uneven, they made mistakes, and their equipment was generally old, inferior, and poorly maintained.

But apparently they've made at least one serious investment in this war: searchlights. They have a lot of them, and they're modern and powerful. And one of them has caught your glider, like a moth in a flashlight beam.

And it's /bright/. Light, bright and blinding, pours in through the cockpit. (Murphy yelps and covers his eyes.) Light penetrates through the thin skin of the glider -- it's just painted fabric, after all.

Of course, the searchlight itself isn't the problem...

I think we're in more trouble even now...

The soldier clutches his rifle, thinking, then mutters a prayer

Padre nostro che sei nei cieli,sia santificato il tuo nome, venga il tuo regno,sia fatta la tua volonta come in cielo così in terra...

He shouts to the pilot to be heard

Can I cut a small hole in the Glider? Maybe I can try to shoot that light!

Dewitt lets out a curse, but his Midwestern accent softens it to the point where it sounds more like a gentle admonishment of the Axis soldiers below. Squinting in the bright light, he looks around for anything that might be of use.

Are we wearing parachutes, or are there enough parachutes for all of us in sight?

"Putain, 'ow the 'ell do we get out of 'ere"

What is our elevation and how far from shore are we?

Can I cut a small hole in the Glider? Maybe I can try to shoot that light!

Oh, clever! Yes, you could totally try that. Very long range, so -1 die -- and remember, you lose hard dice and wiggle dice first.

Are we wearing parachutes, or are there enough parachutes for all of us in sight?

Parachutes?!? What, you don't trust your glider pilots to bring you down safely?

Glider troops didn't wear parachutes. They were carrying enough stuff already.

"Putain, 'ow the 'ell do we get out of 'ere"

What is our elevation and how far from shore are we?

Good question. You're still over the ocean. Good altitude... but you're losing some, because the glider is dipping and banking, hard.

Now: a glider can't dive like an airplane. Or rather, it can, but it really shouldn't. Unlike an airplane, a glider can't recover lost altitude. And a glider doesn't have a powered engine to accelerate out of danger, eiter. That said, a glider can take evasive action: not as fast or as effectively as an airplane, but it can bank, swoop, swerve, and at least try to get out of the way of what's coming.

Ah yes -- what's coming...

TAKTAKTAKTAKTAKTAKTAKTAK

You get a glimpse of green tracers through the windshield. The Italian anti-aircraft guns would like to make your acquaintance.

Now, these are relatively light, short-range guns. (They're Breda Model 35s, if you really want to get your war nerd on -- the standard light Italian AA gun.) Against modern 1943 fighter planes -- P-51 Mustangs, say -- they wouldn't be much good, and a Flying Fortress would simply laugh at them.

Unfortunately, you're not in a B-17, nor even a Mustang. You're in a glider with a fabric skin. And that thing is firing slugs that are roughly the size of your index finger, with a muzzle velocity of just over half a mile per second.

Okay, so -- Corporal Marella wants to risk a shot at the searchlight. Anyone else have any ideas?

Dewitt runs through his well-memorized list of items he carries with him, but can't think of a blessed thing that might be of use to them in this situation.

He looks around at his fellow Talents then finally settles on Evans. "Hey Evans!" he shouts over the rushing wind and ackack, "That Clankie, can he help us out? Can he make us invisible or lift us up out of range of those Italian guns? We're kinda sitting ducks in this flying canvas tub!"

I got Rifle 2 skills, and Hyperskill: Rifle : 3 normal dice, 1 wiggle dice, so that leave me with 5 normal dice, I guess?

rifle,-1 dice: 5d10 ⇒ (1, 8, 2, 4, 8) = 23

Luigi tries to aim at the light, after cutting a small hole in the glider to be able to see its target

That's quite the long shot..But it's worth trying.

I think Riffles are a coordination skill? Which means a few things, first that you should add one more die to your pool because of your body stat, and second, that you shouldn't be able to have riffle 2 because you can only have up to your stat in a skill? But I'm not sure if that's all correct.

He was able to get the second point from training which lets you go over by 1 if I recall correctly

He was able to get the second point from training which lets you go over by 1 if I recall correctly

Correct -- Hyperskills don't follow the normal rules.

He looks around at his fellow Talents then finally settles on Evans. "Hey Evans!" he shouts over the rushing wind and ackack, "That Clankie, can he help us out? Can he make us invisible or lift us up out of range of those Italian guns? We're kinda sitting ducks in this flying canvas tub!"

Evans doesn't even open his eyes. "Clankie dislikes our undignified situation just as much as you do, Sergeant. But he doesn't scamper about making things invisible. Clankie proceeds with the dignity befitting his age and his aristocratic stature."

A moment passes, then Evans (with eyes still closed and with great weariness) adds: "Oh let it go, Clankie dear. I didn't say anything about your age. I think you look extremely distinguished."

Corporal Snart hisses something that is hard to hear over the sound of the AA fire and the rushing of the wind, but it's along the lines that Evans is a "useless fruit".

Evans, eyes closed, makes no response.

I got Rifle 2 skills, and Hyperskill: Rifle : 3 normal dice, 1 wiggle dice, so that leave me with 5 normal dice, I guess?

[dice=rifle,-1 dice]5d10

Luigi tries to aim at the light, after cutting a small hole in the glider to be able to see its target

That's quite the long shot..But it's worth trying.

Okay, I wasn't expecting you to try this quite so fast, and I *was* going to say that this had a difficulty of 5 (meaning, you would need double 5s or higher to pull it off). But, woo!

However...

This counts as a combat with the Italian AA gun. You're shooting out the searchlight; the gun is shooting at your glider; these two events happen together, as does the conversation with Evans and the pilots' attempts at evasion.

The evasion attempt: the pilots roll 4 dice. On a match they succeed, and take you out of the searchlight.

The AA gun shoots with 7 dice. If it rolls doubles lower than 8, that means it acts after you, and it doesn't get a shot in until after you've killed the searchlight. If it's shooting with no searchlight, either because the pilots dodged first or because you shot the searchlight first, it loses 2 dice from its pool -- in this case, the last 2 dice rolled.

If it rolls doubles higher than 8, or if it rolls a triple, it hits before you have a chance to act. You probably still get your shot off (unless you're the person hit) but someone in the glider is going to be hit and hurt. The AA gun has spray, so it will hit 2 times (or more if it has multiple hits).

All clear? Okay, let's roll some dice...

The pilots attempt to evade: 4d10 ⇒ (3, 10, 7, 8) = 28

The Breda tries to shoot you out of the sky: 7d10 ⇒ (9, 10, 2, 2, 5, 8, 8) = 44

Huh: our very first combat has a tie roll! Now what?

Well, it turns out this is a soft spot in the rules. Page 11 of the CRB says: "the GM decides the most appropriate way to resolve it. Maybe he just asks for a reroll. Maybe the contest is deemed a tie. Or maybe the task is incomplete and the two have to continue competing."

I think in a combat situation, this is one of those fluky things where two sides shoot simultaneously, both take damage, but neither suffers the ill effects until the next round. So Marella shoots out the searchlight -- but the AA gun still hits you three times (2 matches, +1 for spray).

Okay so -- who / what gets hit? Well, I'm going to whip up a quick random table.

1-2 Wing / Body
3-4 Control surface
5-6 Pilots
7-10 Talent squad

Three hits, so 3d10 ⇒ (1, 8, 10) = 19

Ruh roh. Okay, who got hit? There are 9 of you, so I'll just roll in descending rank / alphabetical order (Lt., 2xSgt., 2x Cpl., 4 privates). rolling again on a 10.

2d10 ⇒ (9, 7) = 16

Okay, let's see. 7 an 9 are the first and third of the 4 privates. In alphabetical order, that's Evans, Laurent, Murphy, Zindel. So, it's the 2 NPCs -- Evans and Murphy.

These AA guns do width + 4 killing and shock. So that's 6 killing and 6 shock (!). In Evans' case, that goes to location 2 -- right leg. His right leg has only 5 hp, so 1 killing and 6 shock transfer to his torso.

In Murphy's case, that goes to location 8, which unfortunately is Murphy's torso. The torso has 10 boxes. 6 fill with kill, 4 with shock, which leaves 2 shock left over -- those double up to fill two more boxes with kill. So, 8/10 boxes with kill, remaining two boxes with shock. Murphy is literally clinging to life by a thread.

Okay, let's put it all together!

Marella slashes through the lacquered fabric, then leans out into the slipstream. This would be an impossible shot for a normal man: not only is the range ridiculously long, but he is squinting into the glare of the spotlight while the 120 mph wind of the glider's passage blasts past him.

But Marella is perfectly, inhumanly calm, lost in his Talent. very gently, he squeezes the trigger. Two seconds later, there is a faint crash -- at this distance, strangely like the sound of a shattering light bulb -- and the light goes out, and they are sliding forward through darkness.

However...

1) The glider is not moving so smoothly. In addition to the hole you cut in the fuselage, the tip-end of one wing has been neatly severed. The glider doesn't like this; it wants to bank, and then tumble. You can hear the pilots shouting wildly as they struggle for control

2) Murphy got it right through the chest, and he has a massive sucking chest wound. He's barely conscious and very close to death. He has toppled over and is lying on the deck, gurgling.

I'm going to rule that without first aid, Murphy will lose 1 point of shock per minute -- so, he'll die in two minutes.

3) Evans is screaming. His foppish mannerisms are gone: he's just screaming his head off. And well he might. The AA shell hit him right in the thigh; his femur is a mass of torn meat and bone splinters. A severed artery is spraying blood everywhere.

I'm going to rule that those additional shock / death points to the torso represent blood loss. Furthermore, Evans will continue to lose 1 point of shock per round unless he gets first aid, and 1 point per hour until he gets proper medical attention -- a field surgery or better. Right now he has 1 killing and 6 shock to his torso; for the record, the torso has 10 hit boxes, and once every box is ticked, shock starts turning to kill damage. So, Evans will bleed to death in 12 rounds without first aid, and he'll die in 12 hours if you don't get him to a proper doctor.

Phew! Well, congratulations on surviving your first combat (so far). Pity about Evans and Murphy, and of course you still have to reach the ground.

Now what?

Doing his best to keep it together Damian will attempt first aid on Evans assuming you will allow Me to attempt it untrained

"putain, est-ce que quelqu'un sait s-" he starts in french as his face slowly shifts to mirror Evans before realizing no one was understanding him sputtering for a moment and correcting in a somewhat foppish tone "first aid, does anyone know first aid?"

brains (first aid): 3d10 ⇒ (1, 9, 8) = 18

spending 1 will

"Mein Gott!" Landing was going to be a problem, but at least that anti-aircraft gun had been taken care of. "Just like going over ze top in ze bad old days." Zindel looks over at Murphy and Evans. "I am medically certified, in both first aid and surgery, but ve need to focus on landing. If zey are dead on landing, ve can do them no good."

Healing, 5ND: 5d10 ⇒ (7, 1, 9, 1, 8) = 26

Luigi dashes into action, putting his trusted rifle besides him, as he prays fervently over Murphy, his hands clutching his rosary as he tries to tends to the fallen soldier massives wounds

Mamma mia...San Camillo de Lellis, vieni in mio aiuto!

Doing his best to keep it together Damian will attempt first aid on Evans assuming you will allow Me to attempt it untrained

Sure. Although --

"putain, est-ce que quelqu'un sait s-" he starts in french as his face slowly shifts to mirror Evans before realizing no one was understanding him sputtering for a moment and correcting in a somewhat foppish tone "first aid, does anyone know first aid?"

spending 1 will

Nice, nice.

Okay so: you're basically fumbling with Evans' leg while he screams and flails, blood going everywhere. Then Corporal Marella shoves you aside --

[dice=Healing, 5ND]5d10

Luigi dashes into action, putting his trusted rifle besides him, as he prays fervently over Murphy, his hands clutching his rosary as he tries to tends to the fallen soldier massives wounds

Mamma mia...San Camillo de Lellis, vieni in mio aiuto!

Okay, you got a match. That heals width in killing damage + 2X width in shock. So, Evans gets back 1 killing + 2 shock. I'm going to say that's he torso damage, meaning you've managed to stop the bleeding. So Evans is currently at Right Leg gone (all boxes killed) and Torso 0 Kill / 4 Shock.

He's still down a lot of damage, and incapacitated, and Murphy still has a sucking chest wound. But he's no longer in danger of imminent death.

That cost you 1 Will; make a note. More healing, or wait until after you c/r/a/s/h land?

Mental Stability?: 6d10 + 10 ⇒ (2, 5, 1, 3, 7, 1) + 10 = 29
Just like the trenches all over again, but with even more trappings of grandeur. Nothing grand about this.
"Evans! Better yet, Clarkie! Listen to me. You need to tourniquet zat leg. Clarkie's got ze strength to do it, I vill valk you through vat you need to do until ve get to ze ground!"

First Aid: 7d10 + 10 + 10 ⇒ (9, 7, 1, 2, 3, 3, 4) + 10 + 10 = 49

[dice=Mental Stability?]6d10+10

Good point! Corporal Marella should make one of these too. I'll say that his Heal succeeds regardless -- but if he fails now, he's going to have a delayed reaction and be out of action for a little bit.

"Evans! Better yet, Clarkie! Listen to me. You need to tourniquet zat leg. Clarkie's got ze strength to do it, I vill valk you through vat you need to do until ve get to ze ground!"

[dice=First Aid]7d10+10+10

First aid: rolls to stabilize head and torso injuries are made at Difficulty 3, but your two hard dice mean that's not an issue. (As long as you don't lose any dice, of course.) So, Evans is no longer dying. He's clearly in shock, though, and he's lost quite a bit of blood.

"Clankie? Clankie... where are you, dear boy?" Evans' eyes lurch from side to side, as if trying to locate something in the dim interior of the plane.

Meanwhile: you have about three rounds before you either land or crash. You can try to do stuff, or you can leave be and just brace. What shall it be?

Mental stability 3ND: 3d10 ⇒ (10, 1, 8) = 19

The Corporal does what he can to retain his aloofness, but his fingers shake a bit nervously as he inconciously plays with his rosary.

You hear him mumbling in Italian, probably praying.

Damian seeing that neither Evans nor Murphy are in any shape to brace themselves will move to try and brace things around Murphy

not sure what the roll here would be or if there would be one

[dice=Mental stability 3ND]3d10

The Corporal does what he can to retain his aloofness, but his fingers shake a bit nervously as he inconciously plays with his rosary.

You hear him mumbling in Italian, probably praying.

Okay, you're effectively out of action for the next little bit -- at least until the glider c/r/a/ lands.

Damian seeing that neither Evans nor Murphy are in any shape to brace themselves will move to try and brace things around Murphy

not sure what the roll here would be or if there would be one

Brains or Cool; it's much of a muchness. 3d10 ⇒ (7, 10, 2) = 19 You fumble with them, but you're not sure it does much good.

Meanwhile, the glider is heading down, fast...

"Du farkirtst mir di yorn!" This is not good. 2 injured, and another 2 are shell shocked.

"Croyden! Can you help shield Murphy from the worst of the fall? Snart, same to you, but for Evans. And Dewitt, would you happen to have a parachute?"

"Croyden! Can you help shield Murphy from the worst of the fall?"

Sergeant Croydon hesitates, and looks to the Lieutenant -- who nods. Croydon moves over to Murphy.

"Snart, same to you, but for Evans."

"You ain't the boss of me, Kraut!"

Meanwhile, the glider is heading down, fast...

Okay so: landing the glider safely would normally be 6 dice, pretty safe. However,

-1d because you're not in the LZ, and
-1d because the glider is damaged

So, four dice -- a coin flip, basically. A match means a safe landing. You'll start 3 km (2 miles) from the LZ; I'll take 100 meters off that per match height, minus another km if you get 3 width too.

No match, it's a crash -- with the height of the number indicating how bad / good. So, no match, 10 high, is a crash but not catastrophic. No match, 5 high, this battle may be over. Seem reasonable?

The ex-farmhand from Iowa looks through the holes in the skin of the plane and sees the quickly approaching ground. He hears Kessler's question and responds: "Yeah, but at this height and rate of descent, it's not going to do much good. Just hang on everybody!!!"

Not sure if we can do anything mechanically to help our survival chance for this crash.

forgot about mental stability

Brains+ Mental Stability: 4d10 ⇒ (10, 7, 8, 9) = 34

Damian starts to lose control as he is trying to secure Murphy

"blood, there's so much blood, my blood." as he looks around and then to Evans "no, no, it's not mine, its, it's his, but ... I am him?" he starts to ponder as the plane hurtles down

Seems reasonable DM

"Do it or Evans's blood vill be on your hands. Anyvone who still has their head on straight, help those who are too far gone to brace for impact!" Zindel waits to see if Snart does what he asks. If not, he'll try and brace Evans as best he can. If he does, he'll try to help brace Marella instead.

Here we go:

4d10 ⇒ (6, 4, 9, 9) = 28