[SF Adventure] To Defy the Dragon

Game Master cmlobue

Yargnod, don't be a punk and hide! :P had to

Sefel turns back towards his target and continues unloading on it.

[standard] attack (Spending 3pp for Devastating Hit 1d10 => 2d6)

Plasma rifle attack, E and F damage: 1d20 + 10 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 10 + 2 = 2412d6 + 11 ⇒ (4, 4, 6, 1, 5, 4, 4, 3, 3, 1, 1, 6) + 11 = 53

"I think the computer's linked to the new mech. That's why I couldn't get it started. If it goes back into the computer will it be able to transfer and control the mech?"

Telirix is throwing strategic considerations out to the more knowledgeable, but tactical considerations goad him to close the range and fire again.

Move as shown.
Hailcannon, Ultracold Cryo v EAC purple: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (14) + 13 = 27 ... damage: 4d8 + 11 ⇒ (4, 4, 1, 6) + 11 = 26 C & P 80'

Yargnod punks out.

The two mechs both have trouble tracking the target.

Telirix hits with his rifle, but it barely chills the creature.

With its preferred target gone, it tries flinging electricity at both of the active mechs.

Electrical Surge vs. Flame Knight: 1d20 + 24 - 4 ⇒ (13) + 24 - 4 = 33
Electricity Damage: 2d8 + 12 ⇒ (1, 3) + 12 = 16

Electrical Surge vs. Time Knight: 1d20 + 24 - 4 ⇒ (3) + 24 - 4 = 23
Electricity Damage: 2d8 + 12 ⇒ (4, 3) + 12 = 19

Round 6 - bolded may go

Telirix
Yargnod (-99 SP, -33 HP)
Time Knight (-3 HP, 8 PP)
Flame Knight (-5 SP, -48 HP, 7 PP)
Virtual Phantom (-131 HP)

attack phantom with whip using aim hit: 1d20 + 10 + 1d4 ⇒ (16) + 10 + (1) = 27 dmg: 6d8 + 17 ⇒ (1, 5, 3, 3, 1, 7) + 17 = 37 finally, maybe.

'barely chills the creature' does that mean after throwing away the piercing damage and reducing the cold damage 50% for incorporeality, the remaining 6 hp of damage is inconsequential?

Telirix groans when he sees the effect of his shot, but all he can do is keep firing. "Hit'em again."

Get'em. won't help the mech drivers, but +2 for Yargnod.
Hailcannon, Ultracold Cryo v EAC purple, get'em: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (20) + 13 = 33 ... damage: 4d8 + 11 ⇒ (5, 6, 1, 2) + 11 = 25 C & P 80'

crit damage: 4d8 + 11 ⇒ (2, 8, 4, 6) + 11 = 31 and The target must succeed at a Fortitude save or be staggered (see page 277) for 1 round. (DC 17)

Staggered :
You can take a single move action or standard action each round, but not both, nor can you take full actions. You can still take swift actions, but not reactions.

Nonmagical kinetic damage does nothing, and energy and magical kinetic are halved. Force and ghost touch work as normal. 6 damage left, and fast healing 5.

Grr.... hold still!

[standard] attack (Spending 3pp for Devastating Hit 1d10 => 2d6)

Plasma rifle attack, E and F damage: 1d20 + 10 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 10 + 2 = 2912d6 + 11 ⇒ (4, 2, 2, 5, 4, 4, 3, 4, 6, 1, 6, 5) + 11 = 57

"I've been hitting him!" Yargnod declares, though the defiant part of him takes up the challenge as he continues to blast away.

Justifier (Doom Caller Desperation Cannon): 1d20 + 13 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 13 + 2 = 22
Electricity and Force (Improved Overcharge, Calibrated): 3d12 + 11 + 2d6 + 11 ⇒ (12, 10, 4) + 11 + (5, 6) + 11 = 59

Fortitude Save: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (13) + 9 = 22

Yargnod punctuates his cry about hitting the enemy by not hitting the enemy.

Telirix, however, lands a perfect shot. The phantom resists most of the damage.

Flame Knight adds some laser damage of its own.

Time Knight's whip goes straight through the creature as if it weren't there.

The creature goes after the more dangerous-seeming mech.

Electrical Surge vs. Flame Knight: 1d20 + 24 ⇒ (16) + 24 = 40
Electricity Damage: 2d8 + 12 ⇒ (1, 2) + 12 = 15

Round 7 - bolded may go

Telirix
Yargnod (-99 SP, -33 HP)
Time Knight (-3 HP, 8 PP)
Flame Knight (-9 SP, -48 HP, 7 PP)
Virtual Phantom (-168 HP)

Telirix sees how ineffectual the whip is.

"Mordack, try the sonic cannon! And everyone, you know what to shoot."

The lashunta follows his own advice, and fires his hail cannon again.

Hailcannon, Ultracold Cryo v EAC purple, get'em: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (1) + 13 = 14 ... damage: 4d8 + 11 ⇒ (8, 7, 6, 2) + 11 = 34 C & P 80'

Get'em with the shot. +2 for everyone to hit. EDIT: Too enthusiastic. Just Yargnod. The mechs block effect to Sefel and Mordack.

Mordack will switch over to the sonic shotgun hit: 1d20 + 10 + 1d4 ⇒ (2) + 10 + (3) = 15 using aim dmg: 6d8 + 11 ⇒ (5, 1, 8, 1, 3, 6) + 11 = 35 sonic.

Indeed we know, I just wish it would die already!

[standard] attack (spending 1pp for aim)
Plasma rifle attack (aim), E and F damage: 1d20 + 10 + 2 + 1d4 ⇒ (4) + 10 + 2 + (4) = 206d10 + 11 ⇒ (1, 8, 10, 10, 9, 7) + 11 = 56

It would be more likely to just die if someone could aim at it properly.

Round 7 - bolded may go

Telirix
Yargnod (-99 SP, -33 HP)
Time Knight (-3 HP, 8 PP)
Flame Knight (-9 SP, -48 HP, 7 PP)
Virtual Phantom (-168 HP)

"Are all the targeting systems broken?!" Yargnod growls as this fight starts to look a lot like the one upstairs. Though, this time, he has trusty Justifier involved and he knows the person who built that didn't mess it up.

Justifier (Doom Caller Desperation Cannon): 1d20 + 13 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 13 + 2 = 25
Electricity and Force (Improved Overcharge, Calibrated): 3d12 + 11 + 2d6 + 11 ⇒ (3, 2, 5) + 11 + (2, 4) + 11 = 38

Then again...it was made out of spare parts he salvaged out of wrecks...

Know whose targeting systems are not broken? The phantom's!

Electrical Surge vs. Flame Knight: 1d20 + 24 - 4 ⇒ (18) + 24 - 4 = 38
Electricity Damage: 2d8 + 12 ⇒ (7, 5) + 12 = 24

Electrical Surge vs. Time Knight: 1d20 + 24 - 4 ⇒ (7) + 24 - 4 = 27
Electricity Damage: 2d8 + 12 ⇒ (6, 8) + 12 = 26

Well, maybe they're a little broken, but Flame Knight gets another shock.

Round 8 - bolded may go

Telirix
Yargnod (-99 SP, -33 HP)
Time Knight (-3 HP, 8 PP)
Flame Knight (-14 SP, -56 HP, 7 PP)
Virtual Phantom (-163 HP)

Yargnod continues to curse thoroughly and roundly and creatively. Not least of which because he knows that every second they miss, the damage they've done is slowly being undone.

But there isn't much to do but keep trying (and maybe look for another planet with legendary lost mecha.)

Justifier (Doom Caller Desperation Cannon): 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (10) + 13 = 23
Electricity and Force (Improved Overcharge, Calibrated): 3d12 + 11 + 2d6 + 11 ⇒ (3, 5, 4) + 11 + (2, 3) + 11 = 39

Well...THAT's consistency...

Sonic shotgun hit: 1d20 + 10 + 1d4 ⇒ (13) + 10 + (1) = 24 vs eac dmg: 6d8 + 11 ⇒ (2, 4, 2, 5, 2, 1) + 11 = 27

Telirix takes another shot, then checks his battery. 5 shots remaining.

Hailcannon, Ultracold Cryo v EAC purple, get'em: 1d20 + 13 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 13 + 2 = 32 ... damage: 4d8 + 11 ⇒ (1, 6, 3, 8) + 11 = 29 C & P 80'

Sefel is frustrated. He closes his eyes and triggers the plasma rifle.

Plasma rifle attack, E and F damage: 1d20 + 10 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 10 + 2 = 146d10 + 11 ⇒ (9, 4, 8, 2, 4, 6) + 11 = 44

lol, well. At least the text matches the roll. Just waiting for the rng to return to mean for me...

Telirix barely outpaces its fast healing.

Electrical Surge vs. Flame Knight:: 1d20 + 24 - 4 ⇒ (11) + 24 - 4 = 31
Electricity Damage: 2d8 + 12 ⇒ (4, 5) + 12 = 21

Electrical Surge vs. Time Knight: 1d20 + 24 - 4 ⇒ (13) + 24 - 4 = 33
Electricity Damage: 2d8 + 12 ⇒ (8, 7) + 12 = 27

Round 9 - bolded may go

Telirix
Yargnod (-99 SP, -33 HP)
Time Knight (-14 SP, -5 HP, 8 PP)
Flame Knight (-14 SP, -66 HP, 7 PP)
Virtual Phantom (-167 HP)

Sefel thinks back to training he once saw in a holo-vid. Maybe it was called the "Kung-fu Kid"? The master would blind the student to hone their other senses.

He turns on the auto-trackers (aim) and closes his eyes again before firing.

Spending 1pp for aim
Plasma rifle attack (aim), E and F damage: 1d20 + 10 + 2 + 1d4 ⇒ (20) + 10 + 2 + (4) = 366d10 + 11 ⇒ (5, 5, 5, 7, 8, 2) + 11 = 43

Another shotgun blast using aim hit: 1d20 + 10 + 1d4 ⇒ (13) + 10 + (1) = 24 dmg: 6d8 + 11 ⇒ (1, 6, 5, 4, 8, 4) + 11 = 39 Oh, well maybe Sefels crit of 86 killed it, I can't seem to hit the thing.

The rolls have really been something else, lol

Sefel's rifle blast chases the phantom back into the computer.

Combat over - for now

Yargnod calls down curses from every god he's ever heard of as well as cursing those same gods as he gets close enough to the computer to hack it (40').

He pauses only long enough to turn Justifier back into a pocket dimension disk and slip it into an actual pocket before he starts to find a way to destroy that thing forever.

Computers: 1d20 + 21 ⇒ (16) + 21 = 37

Killing a virtual phantom for good is complicated. A level 12 or higher signal jammer would keep the creature in place for as long as it was active. Holding it outside the computer at 0 HP for an hour would permanently destroy it (but that requires the aforementioned jammer to immobilize it). Otherwise, it will eventually regain all its HP and emerge again.

You have about 4 minutes before it is able to emerge again. It may be better to do what you need to here and escape before it can do so.

"See if we can get the mech started. Then we'll trash this computer while it's still inside."

COmputers, aid: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (19) + 13 = 32

In that case, Sefel would unload the flame knight's plasma rifle on the computer on Telirix's signal.

Once the heroes hack the system, a window pops up on the screen that reads: “Access Granted. Engaging PALISADE KNIGHT.” The mech’s mechanisms whir to life.

>Slide 7<

Once the mech is in operation, the team trashes the computer the phantom is hiding in.

We almost have one for each of us! Sefel exclaims telepathically.

What are our options for next places to look?

There was a place marked "Cairn of Shackled Shadows" on the map.

"Yes we do. Who wants to be the three mech jockeys?"

I submit that at this point, it's best if Telirix rides with one of you. That way he can still get'em for his pilot, and we're all using mech weapons.

There is also the question of repairs. Time is not an issue, but I presume you will want to roll to see how many UPBs you can save.

Yargnod ends up in the new mech, if only because he's got a head start on the people who would have to get out of the ones they're already in to get to this one.

He gives the computer a good jab with the spear on the way out, mostly out of spite.

Then, he scrams, pushing the new mech to its fastest for at least a quarter of an hour before stopping.

His cackling laugh of victory comes over the comes. "That's three! Soon we'll have all four. Now...let's figure out who's going to pilot what."

He opens the hatch but doesn't get out of Palisade Knight. It's quite possible he may never be out of a mech for more than a few seconds again.

Sefel gets to work on UBP savings

Engineering: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (8) + 20 = 28

Yargnod watches Sefel get to work.

"Let's get back to the ship and and do complete repairs then we can set out for the last Mech," he says.

Telirix lends a hand.

Engineering, aid: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (14) + 15 = 29

Maybe we just repair the battle damage from the latest fight. Then go. It'll be nicer to do full repairs back in civilization.

Sefel will happily yield lead to the higher roll

cmlobue, I think we're waiting to find out about the repairs. Then we're headed home to plan the next foray.

Indeed you are.

Telirix and Sefel both work on the Flame Knight's frame. They restore 44 HP at the cost of 440 UPBs.

Shield POints just regenerate on their own, right?

Time Knight (-14 SP, -5 HP, 8 PP)
Flame Knight (-14 SP, -22 HP, 7 PP) after repairs
Palisade Knight

Repairs eat UPBs! What have we got for loot? We need to trade it for UPBs.

And we didn't really settle who's driving which mech. I think putting Telirix in a back seat is our best option because I think he can still use get'em with his driver.

Sefel seems quite fond of Flame Knight,

Sefel has stuck with the flame knight and become very familiar with it. The console has the ringed coffee stains of the mug from his old software company (from before he got fire laid off)!

He's open to any suggestions about changes though. You never know if something else will work better if you don't try it.

Otherwise, it appears we are next headed to the "Cairn of Shackled Shadows." Sounds dark.

Shield points restore on their own. Power points don't exist outside of combat.

I was keeping track of loot on THIS SHEET.

I think it's still up to date because we haven't really had any looting, lately (it's all been getting mechs.) It's all pretty much up for grabs, as far as I'm concerned to buy UPB's.

Maybe Telirix can stay with Mordack in Time Knight.

Sefel can stay in Flame Knight.

Yargnod can take Palisade Knight.

Or Yargnod can stay in Flame Knight and Sefel can move to Palisade Knight.

Sefel is content but flexible. Speak now if someone wants to try the flameknight.

Okay. Sefel in Flame Knight. Yargnod in Palisade Knight. Telirix backseats with Mordack driving Time Knight.

Having decided seating arrangements, the team heads to the final cairn.

A rushing river tumbles through the landscape, vibrant green trees growing around it. In a clearing near the river’s edge, two metal panels jut from the ground, a narrow crack visible between them.

And they are immediately disappointed, as the crack is too small for a mech to fit through. Even a Medium creature will require a DC 25 Acrobatics check to enter. (No penalty for failure, but it may be amusing or embarrassing if it take a long time.) Alternately, you can widen the crack to allow medium creatures to fit through comfortably with a DC 30 Athletics check (but still not enough to get the mechs through).

Are those panels upright into a level tunnel, or flat into a descending chasm?

Can the fingers or other digits of the mechs be used to apply force, and get a mech athletics roll (instead of a wimpy technomancer athletics roll :P)

"But I just got this thing!" Yargnod complains.

Cursing, he gets out of palisade knight and starts stomping, kicking, scratching and tearing at the metal panels and the crack beyond.

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

Mordack exits the Mech and tries to squeeze through acrobatics: 1d20 + 22 ⇒ (10) + 22 = 32