◆◆ Vitality Lash Range 30 basic fort save DC 16
None of Laurel's shots connect, but Metema isn't able to fully avoid Sanity's spell.
Snarling in frustration, the vampire turns. His red eyes bore into Dr. Sanity. "You!" he snaps, losing any sense of subtlety or manipulation, "Help me!"
...and when that doesn't work he shoots the doctor instead.
All PCs' turns.
Initiative:
Metema the Eternal (AC 19-21, -29 HP, bloodied)
Laurel (AC 19, 24/24 HP, immune to Dominate)
Jazz (AC 19, 24/24 HP, immune to Dominate)
Fengsai (AC 18, 23/23 HP, Drained 1)
Grizzi (AC 19, 22/22 HP)
Zashodu (AC 17, 21/30 HP, immune to Dominate)
Dr. Sanity (AC 18, 15/24 HP, Stunned 1, immune to Dominate)
Checking his clip ”Still hot!” our plucky young hero taunts and fires ”I sed Hol’ Still, vamper!”
◆) Demoralize
◆◆) Strike x2
Grizzi continues shooting.
Help, yes. Do you need an IV, I can give you a nice saline... OUCH! Hey! Don't shoot the doctor! Sheesh. I get that you can't stand the sight of anything loosely resembling a stake, but this is being a bit much, no?
Sani is utterly shocked by the atrocious patient behaviour that he forgets to act.
In fact, I will help, but you have to stop moving first. This will sting a bit
Vampires are legendarily quick, as far as anyone knows, and Metema avoids shot after spell--though he still seems a little alarmed and shaken by Laurel's threats.
Dr. Sanity pierces his defenses with magic. "That's hardly a healing spell!" he snarls.
Jazz's turn.
Initiative:
Metema the Eternal (AC 21, -37 HP, bloodied, Frightened 1, -1 to AC, +1 to damage received)
Laurel (AC 19, 24/24 HP, immune to Dominate)
Jazz (AC 19, 24/24 HP, immune to Dominate)
Fengsai (AC 18, 23/23 HP, Drained 1)
Grizzi (AC 19, 22/22 HP)
Zashodu (AC 17, 21/30 HP, immune to Dominate)
Dr. Sanity (AC 18, 15/24 HP, Stunned 1, immune to Dominate)
Electric Arc at Metema
basic reflex save DC 18
The vampire doesn't fully avoid the effect.
There's a bit of a high-pitched note of panic to Metema's voice now as he fixes Fengsai with his deep red eyes. "Defend me!"
...did it actually work this time? He reloads his crossbolter
All PCs' turns.
Initiative:
Metema the Eternal (AC 21, -32 HP, bloodied, -1 to AC and Reflex, +1 to damage received)
Laurel (AC 19, 24/24 HP, immune to Dominate)
Jazz (AC 19, 24/24 HP, immune to Dominate)
Fengsai (AC 18, 23/23 HP, Drained 1, Controlled)
Grizzi (AC 19, 22/22 HP)
Zashodu (AC 17, 21/30 HP, immune to Dominate)
Dr. Sanity (AC 18, 15/24 HP, Stunned 1, immune to Dominate)
Metema seems to resist the spell, and yet he still looks dazed and dizzy. Vampires are resilient, but the party is certainly wearing him down all the same.
Laurel, Jazz, Fengsai, Grizzi, and Sanity's turns.
Initiative:
Metema the Eternal (AC 21, -40 HP, bloodied, -1 to AC and Reflex, +1 to damage received)
Laurel (AC 19, 24/24 HP, immune to Dominate)
Jazz (AC 19, 24/24 HP, immune to Dominate)
Fengsai (AC 18, 23/23 HP, Drained 1, Controlled)
Grizzi (AC 19, 22/22 HP)
Zashodu (AC 17, 21/30 HP, immune to Dominate)
[b]Dr. Sanity[b] (AC 18, 15/24 HP, Stunned 1, immune to Dominate)
Grizzi reloads and takes up a new position.
Then, he fires again.
Grizzi doesn't hit, but Zashodu does.
"Y--you pathetic mortals really think you.. you can..." Metema looks down at where the laser has burned through his shirt--and the torso beneath it. "Oh."
He collapses to the ground, and begins to melt away into mist. While probably not technically free of the vampire's mental control, without him to whisper in her mind Fengsai feels a little dazed and feels a buzzing noise in her brain, but no worse. And even that quickly passes.
Those who've been under his thrall for longer react a little more dramatically. One woman collapses into his chair. One man cries out "Master, no!" and flees the building. He'll... probably be fine, soon enough. A third charges at Zashodu and flails at him ineffectually with her fists. Rather clearly a noncombatant and not particularly strong, it's obvious that she is no threat to him. And after a few seconds her flailing slows and she just looks confused. "What am I--who where?" she says vaguely, before plopping down to sit on the floor.
Veffi suddenly passes out. Without him actively holding her down, Arta is able to shove him off and finally get to her feet.
"Uh, thanks. Uh. I hope our new members aren't too put out by this incident. Vampire attacks are not a normal part of our meetings. We usually just have tea. That guy never did drink the tea."
|
Before the combat was over Fengsai
◆ WARP REALITY quantum field 15-foot-radius enemy creature –5-foot status penalty allies +5
◆ DEBRIS ZONE quantum field becomes difficult terrain
◆ Stride to become a shield for Metema, not in time to save him...
"What have you done to Metema!?"
Fengsai defends the corpus of Metema, but not attacking but trying to keep everyone away from his body.
Finally, Fengsai snaps out of it, drained, tired, confused, and dazed Fengasi passes out right where she is for an 8 hour rest.
Sani checks the pulse of Fengsai and says Still ticks. I think she's got a bad case of insufficient determination. Nothing we can do at this point, she'll have to sleep it off.
"What have you done to Metema!?"
”Shottim up” Laurel explains ”Dutty vamper”
He blows the smoke from his Lasgun, whirls it, and stuffs it back into his trousers. He turns to others ”You guys good?”
After a bit, Veffi groggily gets to his feet.
He has vague recollections of helping lure victims in for Metema to feed on them. "I think I... locked them in a storage locker? Not this one--across the hall, two doors down. It's a physical key... uh, I don't have it with me. I think it might be in my locker at work?"
The key the party found their earlier opens the lock. Inside, unconscious and bound but alive and un-drained, is a kasatha. "I know him. That's my coworker Meldo," says Veffi, still sounding a little vague and out of it.
Veffi suddenly passes out. Without him actively holding her down, Arta is able to shove him off and finally get to her feet.
"Uh, thanks. Uh. I hope our new members aren't too put out by this incident. Vampire attacks are not a normal part of our meetings. We usually just have tea. That guy never did drink the tea."
Taking the "hint", Grizzi rushes to grab several fresh cups for the remaining congregants.
He offers the first to the newly-discovered Meldo.
The vampire's body melts into smoke (certain monsters really are very considerate about cleaning up after themselves), leaving behind a tactical crossbolter and 15 bolts, a commercial second skin, a small notebook containing some vague notes on occultism along with bad poetry about how being a vampire is so cool and makes you so much better then living people, and two vials of presumably-humanoid blood.
It takes a bit of effort to rouse Meldo, but he's grateful for the rescue (and sleepy), and he and his wife are overjoyed to be reunited when he's returned to the community center.
Courier Lotus is also there, apparently waiting for the party. "Hey, um, can we talk?" They're a little distracted by Fengsai. "Uh... is she okay? Anyway, um... I think we should talk. Can you meet me at the diner for breakfast tomorrow?"
"Do you need help eating?" Grizzi inquires. "I'll be happy to help!"
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Fengsai wakes up in the morning feeling surprisingly well-rested.
"Wow, I must have really needed that rest, somehow I feel better than before. Did I miss any other strange events while I was out?
Fengsai quickly stops taking and holds out one hand, gesturing to stop.
"Never mind, I don't want to know. It would be nice to have a few normal minutes in the morning."
In fact, things are starting to look up on that front. Everyone receives a message saying that the lockdown is lifted and residents are free to resume travel around, into, and out of the station.
Unfortunately, that good news is very short-lived. Another emergency broadcast appears on all channels. Primex Kantol grimly explains the situation: The Starstone reactor appears stable, but an old substation has experienced a mysterious power spike. Now, automated sensors have detected that Charity Substation, which is located beneath Little Akiton, has reached heat levels nearing meltdown. An explosion could destroy the entire power grid, knocking out the power and life support systems of Little Akiton. Evacuations are starting for the affected neighborhoods, but everyone else is ordered to shelter in place.
Immediately after they watch the broadcast, the party receives a text from a disposable comm unit: “Sunny’s, ASAP.” Lotus, the masked and hooded pahtra from the community center, waits for the party at Sunny-6’s diner. They drink black caff and eat fish-fries with gravy. Between mouthfuls, Lotus explains that they’ve been watching the adventurers around town, and they couldn’t help take interest in their travels to the Ghost Levels. Lotus tells them that a new part of the Ghost Levels just popped up where Charity substation should be—"and there’s no way it’s a coincidence."
”I ain’ fraida no goss’s!” Laurel rises, unpantsing his Lasgun and pointing it straight up at an imaginary threat ”We ben down there, we kin go back, mister Lotus”
Stuffing a few more fish fries into his mouth, he wipes the gravy from his chin with his sleeve and heads for the Sunny-6 door!
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When Fengsai arrives. Fengsai is happy to see Courious Lotus, although still not sure if she can trust him, at least he's not a vampire or has tentacles growing out of him. Getting some rest has improved her attitude as well. Fengsai's tone is friendly but a bit mocking.
"If it isn't Courious Lotus, I meant Courier Lotus. We have been watching you, too."
Fengsai winks at Grizzi, then Fengsai pulls up the hood of her poncho to hide her face and whispers.
"Who are we hiding from? If it's that dangerous, I could turn invisible, but that would make it hard to order breakfast."
Fengsai waves at the waitress
"I'll have what he has."
Fengsai points to Lotus.
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"If it isn't Courious Lotus, I meant Courier Lotus. We have been watching you, too."
Fengsai winks at Grizzi, then Fengsai pulls up the hood of her poncho to hide her face and whispers.
"Who are we hiding from? If it's that dangerous, I could turn invisible, but that would make it hard to order breakfast."
Grizzi places a hood over his head, too, then informs Fengsai. "I noticed one of your eyes blinked out-of-sync and for a longer amount of time. Do you want me to take a look at it? I can help you fix it."
"Also, your voice is very quiet. If you are having trouble speaking, I could help by repeating your words more loudly so that others can hear them better!"
"You can hide from whoever you want, I guess? I'm not hiding.
"I'm actually a Ghost Courier. That's someone who goes into the Ghost Levels regularly, on purpose, to look for interesting stuff to scavenge. I always try to help people new to it, though some Couriers are... more territorial, you might say. Violent thugs who often attack perceived 'rivals' that are usually just lost, you might also say. You might have met some of my colleagues while exploring the Ghost Levels.”
Lotus looks at Laurel. "Mx. But good, I'm glad to hear it, 'cuz you might be the only ones who can help here, and it'll be a disaster if nobody does. Just follow the chaos. And this map.” Lotus texts them a map of the station’s infrastructure. "We call that Entry Point Alinythia. I know the stakes are high right now, but I hope the you take the time to explore and investigate any anomalies you encounter in the Ghost Levels—and tell me all about it afterward."
"Mx. But good, I'm glad to hear it, 'cuz you might be the only ones who can help here, and it'll be a disaster if nobody does. Just follow the chaos. And this map.” Lotus texts them a map of the station’s infrastructure. "We call that Entry Point Alinythia. I know the stakes are high right now, but I hope the you take the time to explore and investigate any anomalies you encounter in the Ghost Levels—and tell me all about it afterward."
"We would LOVE to help, Nufriend Lotus!" Grizzi exclaims. n fact, things are starting to look up on that front. "Say, we just got a message about a meltdown happening at Charity Substation. That's bad, right? Shouldn't we help with that before exploring the newly-appeared Ghost Levels?"
Grizzi pauses for a moment, then asks, "By the way, how does one stop a meltdown?"
Lotus shakes their head. “Primex says it’s melting down, but it’s not even there right now. Instead there’s this new city block nobody’s seen before, lousy with transdimensional rads—it’s the Ghost Levels. They’re expanding. The two phenomena are in no way coincidental.”
Apply ice and hydrate well Sani says in answer to Grizzi's question, doesn't work on hexoglins or lightning elementals though.
Transdimensional rads, for transdimensional DNA scrambling. Do I need transdimensional lead to block it? I can see the appeal of extra limbs Sani says, giving two thumbs up to Grizzi, but I'm not sure I can handle the glow at night.
So, the reactor is melting down, but we don't know where it is? Sounds a bit like a octopus suffering a stroke. You can help him if you're fast enough, but first you have find the correct brain.
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"Ghost Courier, that sounds cool! You should have led with that; I would not have been so suspicious. So, who's Primex, another Ghost Courier?
Fengsai gets her food and starts eating fast while talking.
"This sounds urgent, we should get going soon, transdimensional DNA scrambling might explain the food around here.
Fengsai finishes her breakfast in record time; had she eaten any faster, she would have needed an athletics check or used her quantum field.
"I'm ready to go. Ghost Courier Lotus, we had some bad experiences with elevators getting to the ghost level. Is there a safer way to get in and out?"
Apply ice and hydrate well Sani says in answer to Grizzi's question, doesn't work on hexoglins or lightning elementals though.
Grizzi reaches for his zero knife. "Ice! Check!"
Transdimensional rads, for transdimensional DNA scrambling. Do I need transdimensional lead to block it? I can see the appeal of extra limbs Sani says, giving two thumbs up to Grizzi, but I'm not sure I can handle the glow at night.
Grizzi responds, flashing back two thumbs of his own.
So, the reactor is melting down, but we don't know where it is? Sounds a bit like a octopus suffering a stroke. You can help him if you're fast enough, but first you have find the correct brain.
"Find a brain! Can do!" Grizzi replies, then pauses. "So, what does a reactor's brain look like?"
"Nah, nah the primex who made the announcement. Primex Kantol. She's like, uh... some places might use the title 'governor' or 'minister' for similar jobs? She's the head of station government. I doubt she's lying--whatever's going on reads like a meltdown waiting to happen to station sensors."
Lotus looks over Sanity and Grizzi with a little concern. "Uh.. okay."
When Fengsai asks about the elevator, Lotus shrugs. "How somebody gets to the Ghost Levels the first time is unpredictable, and you can't always find the way someone else went even if you go looking for it, but once you've been a couple times you start to get a feel for where you can find the entrances. You won't need an elevator to get to the entry point from here."
Lotus pulls a pouch out of their backpack and pushes it across the table. "I got some stuff that might help you. It's not a lot, but it's what I got." The pouch contains two shimmerstone serums, two commercial medpatches, and some credsticks containing about 1000 credits. "Nikk-Nakk and Moonpuncher are both probably getting ready to evacuate, but I suggest you make a quick stop to upgrade your weapons."
Laurel hands the kind gun dealer his trusty Lasgun, and waits patiently tapping his foot and peering over the counter every 2 minutes while the man installs the upgrade chips and welds the housing back shut, pacing, pacing, pacing…
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Fengsai gets in line behind Laurel to get her Pulsecaster pistol upgraded.
As Laurel is pacing, pacing, pacing… Fengasi has a look around the shop and sees a box of COMMANDO SERUM energy drinks.
Price 100 credits
Usage held in 1 hand; Bulk L
Activate [one-action] (manipulate)
This tangy crimson serum grants you 1d10+5 temporary Hit
Points, as well as a +5-foot item bonus to your Speed and to
any climb or swim Speeds you have, for 1 minute. When you
drink this serum, your veins protrude and your eyes take on
a reddish tinge.
"If we have extra credits, I'd like to get one of the commando serums, that looks like my kind of energy drink!"
Reaching into his trousers and grabbing a couple shabby creedsticks, he slaps them on the counter next to Fengsai ”Here you can have my cut - less Git those Goss Levels!”
When the Tactical Lasgun is finished, Laurel stuffs into his trousers, and is ready!
The 8-mile radius around Charity Substation is completely unrecognizable. For the length of a city block around the facility, the architecture looks ripped from an ancient era.
The buildings are made of stone and steel. Sleek kiosks dot both indoor and outdoor spaces, each housing antiquated computer hardware. The kiosks have been powered off for so long that it’s impossible to bring them back online or determine what they were built for.
The station’s industrial interior abruptly ends and changes to a scene stolen from a much older city. Weathered stone buildings surround a square with a stone fountain overgrown with dead, brown grass. The buildings look incomplete, as though they’ve been sliced in half by a cutting tool. The area is illuminated by dim blue light; at first, the ceiling seems to have disappeared, but the adventurers realize it has simply risen to a level much, much higher then it should be--about 75 feet.
This snapshot of a city block contains a crumbling temple to the west and an indoor market complex to the east. A ring of mushrooms forms in the blighted ground south of the hill. The buildings’ walls, floor, doors, and ceiling are primarily stone.
A crumbling stone fist rises from the center of a dry, cracked fountain. The dead grass turns to dust at the slightest touch; as the party walks through this terrain, puffs of brown powder accompany their footsteps.
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Chearfully Fengasi says
"I'm getting used to this place, nothing looks like it should, I'm pretty sure the power substation is not supposed to be made of old stone, but around here seems to be normal."
Seeing the puffs from the grass, Fengsai makes sure her environmental protection is on before looking around more.
Dark vision
The dust is just the crumbling of the extremely dry grass. Fengsai notices the fountain twitch, though. Something about the pattern on the inside edge of the pool reminds her of teeth.
It might be dangerous to approach.
Driftbourne
Jazz Kraz
rainzax
Super Zero