Pulse of the Imperium

• This thread is for all players but it doesn't mean they're in contact with each other. We have one thread instead of many to have a precise understanding of timing of actions taken by members of each group. The group separation remains, they can't signal each other except for flares and explosions. Thopter comms go inactive both with the antenna and with each other at the operation-appropriate altitudes.
  • Bernard's group is Group #1. They are at the pass.
  • Razar's group is Group #2. They are in air.
  • Efren's group is Group #3. They are by the lava tube.
  • Duncan's group is Group #4. They are held hostage, and currently in their last drug dream. I'll notify if this changes and only then can they act in this thread.
• Whenever you post, please notify at the top of your post which group you're in. It should be pretty obvious by now, but it will still help us avoid confusion. Initiative orders are kept separate for each theatres.
• To keep the pace of the finale, we introduce 6-hour rule. This replaces the usual ghosting. It means that everyone has 6 hours to make a post since the last person in their group. If they don't, someone else from their team can take the Initiative slot. This includes me, with Dominic for Group #1, Paul for Group #2, Eileen/Sinsei for Group #3, Duncan/Xard for Group #4, respectively, but I'll avoid it if there are other active players from the group around. This means a group member can act twice (but no more) per round. If the group runs out of their initiative slots before someone acts, it means their turn is forfeit this round. By default, I'd be forfeiting NPC or inactive PC turns if someone has acted twice unless I have had to act with them earlier to keep the pace. I will still be announcing the changes of rounds so that one group doesn't bend time at the expense of another.
• At the start of the thread, only Group #1 (Vigilance) and Group #2 (Cool) roll Initiative. Group #3 and Group #4 will only do so if they engage the enemy. Until then, their posts of movements and non-combat actions aren't strictly regulated, they just have to be reasonable given the timing.
• This is an open-ended scenario in terms of outcomes. You can attack, defend or retreat at discretion and/or your understanding of plan/objectives. There are more mercenaries than you can reasonably kill with the force at your disposal, so the generic ones (not Marek, not thopters) are replaced in any theatre every 2 rounds. If there are no casualties within 2 rounds on the enemy side, their ranks increase by one more generic combatant every 2 rounds instead.
• To streamline air combat, let's assume one Piloting roll can be done as Manoeuvre so your Action can be for Gunnery. We still use HAET-221 as the thopter-equivalent, with the following reservation: dorsal forward weapon is standard explosive ordnance (counts as fore), turret is laser (counts as both fore and aft). All their other statistics remain the same. The shield can be angled fore or aft, not both. Indicate clearly if thopter shield is on and where. Angling shield is a manoeuvre. Weapons are calibrated to drop shield for the time needed for the shot. Despair on lasgun can mean it didn't work though...
• If any other clarifications for the scene are required which I have failed to think of, they will be edited into this post upon addressing them.

"We're coming, big man."


A red flare lit the evening sky...

Boom & Bust. Initiative.: 4eP+1eA+2eB 4 successes, 5 advantage, 1 Triumph

Lydia was in position

(ooc init Day 3 | Evening | Boom & Bust init (Vigilance): 1eA+1eP 2 successes, 2 advantage


blast ammo currently in gun)

Cuyler didn't stray far from the lava tube and Sinsei, but she continued to look around for anything they might have missed.

Cuyler Gray wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 19, 2024 10:51 am

Cuyler didn't stray far from the lava tube and Sinsei, but she continued to look around for anything they might have missed.

[A chance to re-roll the failed search-for-craft roll, it consumes two rounds of the other teams during which Cuyler can do nothing else]

This was it; then; everything was leading up to this moment. They just had to get over this hurdle and him and his brother could go home. He had to get him out of here, if nothing else. A big brother was supposed to protect his little siblings, after all.


Day 3 | Evening | Boom & Bust | Vigilance | Willpower Invoked

Net Successes: 2; Net Advantages: 2
No threats rolled, +1 advantage

GROUP #2

Dipping his thopter into a dive, Ambrose followed Paul's lead and marked the point at which they lost communication.

With the loss of comms chatter, the cabin became eerily quiet. In the last few days, Ambrose had grown accustomed to the constant murmuring and squawking of Mr. Bravo. But battle was no place for the bird, so he'd left his local guide back at Paul's camp.

He kept his head on a swivel for any abnormalities in the terrain or enemy thopters in the air.

-----
D3, Evening, EB&B, Cool Initiative, Group #2: 2eA 0 successes, 1 advantage


No shield for now.

Thopter Bravo
Armor: 2
Hull Trauma: 0/8
System Strain: 0/10
Silhouette: 3
Speed: 4

If nothing else, Cuyler had always been good at seeing beyond what was before her and finding the truth. Spotting something they had missed before, she tried to get Efren's attention.

- - -
Day 3 | Evening | Boom & Bust, Daunting Perception (Cunning), Uncanny Senses, “What one wishes were true is seldom so.”: 1eA+3eP+1eB+2eD+2eC+1eS 2 successes, 1 threat

Efren was treeing very effectively. Hard to see, so well treed was he.

[Efren's attention and any further exploration of the finding will have to wait until 2 rounds of combat are complete.]

There were only the slightest indications, oh so easily missed, that this piece of topography, rock among rocks, was something else. Instinctively moving forward and reaching out, Cuyler saw her hand disappear in what seemed to be fabric of reality. Once she passed the thresold, she found herself in what some technologists would call a no-chamber. Tenu Chobyn and his Richesian aides had long been dead, however, the only inventors knowing it was a feasible concept. How anyone would have it at their disposal was a complete mystery.

What was obvious, however, was that this cloak of invisibility was generated out of a small, oblong lighter, designed for small amount of people and some cargo. With the non-detection feature, it could just board any heighliner and move anywhere in the galaxy, unseen. It now seemed obvious that this was a part of that Chaen Marek's escape contingency they had been able to discover only because Efren had climbed the unclimbable cliff.

Cuyler was politically savvy enough to realise what it meant. Both for the organisation they were trying to bust, and for the first Great House that would lay its hands on this and learned to replicate it. The reverberations for the balance of power were enormous and would require mentats to even start approximating. And yet here it was, experimental or industrial, in somebody's service. So who would it be next, Atreides, or Mutelli?

Hadrian looked up from his journal mid sentence. Tucking it into his pocket he grabbed his shotgun and did a quick scan of their surroundings.

Vigilance: 2eA 2 successes


(Team 1 in position)

Boom & Bust. Merc Initiative. Same for 4.: 1eP+2eA+1eB 3 successes, 1 advantage


Boom & Bust. Initiative.: 1eP+2eA 1 success, 2 advantage, 1 Triumph


[Group #1]

Initiative Order:
Merc
Merc
Merc
Merc
Team
Team
Team
Team

[Everyone is Extreme from the Mercs. Team has 2 Triumphs to take 2 bonus turns before the Mercs. These can be used by anyone on the team, but the owner decides. Dominic allows anyone to use his. Paul will use his Triumph to act ahead for the benefit of Group #1. See next post.]

[Shield on.]
Paul sent his thopter into a deep dive toward the fortified pass, like a kingfisher, demonstrating Duncan's daring style of aerial combat. When approaching like a bullet, just before veering off in a high-g manoeuvre, he started blind-blasting the narrow gorge between the mountains with incendiary missiles. With vertigo and a nosebleed [Strain!], he managed to angle the shield to the aft, leaving torn sensor net and forest fire behind him that threw the merc force at the pass into a temporary disarray. What's more important, Bernard's team finally saw their enemies on the fiery canvass Paul had painted. Especially Lydia.

[At Short from anti-thopter batteries.]

[No upgrades/setbacks for Group #1 from thicket/cover when shooting at mercs until they find new hideouts. Boost to shots at them this round.]

[Now Triumph actions for Team #1, one from Bernard, one from Dominic]

Efren Lanville wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 19, 2024 3:07 pm

Efren was treeing very effectively. Hard to see so well treed was he.

From his excellent vantage point, Efren could see both the red flare and the following bombardment of the pass by a single thopter, though it was hard to see which one if the style of it was not enough of an indication.

So it begins…

Efren continued watching, but chirps out a bird call signal to his compatriots on the ground telling them things have begun.

The place lights up, and Lydia takes aim at the people lit up. Firing from a long way away, landing between people rather than hitting them. The explosion was still pretty impressive and left a mark however

(ooc - 2 maneuvers to aim twice
D3 evening combat Ranged (Heavy). Extreme range (4eD). Statement upgrade. Boosts from accuracy, 2x aim: 1eA+3eP+4eB+4eD 3 failures, 3 advantage


Attack misses, but use 3 adv to activate blast 5 On missed attack, target and all characters engaged with target still damaged.)

The shot wasn't perfect, but it still hazed three mercs caught between Paul's and Lydia's blasts.

[1 wound each after Soak.]

[Last Triumph Action for Group #1]

TEAM 1, Hadrian's Charge

As the field lit up Hadrian's adrenaline spiked. He unwisely charged forward on shear rage and fired into the gathered mass of attackers. By the time he regained his senses he realized exactly how exposed he was and dove down into cover.

Firing Carbine at Extreme | Boost from Aim: 1eP+1eA+1eB+4eD 2 successes, 1 Triumph


(Actual results = 1 sux, 1 triumph, 1 threat)

Triumph to dive into ranged cover
Triumph upgrade to future Ranged Light rolls from Hadrian
Absorbing threat to strain
2 additional strain from maneuvers - Extreme to long

Wound 12/12 | Strain 9/12
0 | 1 ranged defense until end of round
4 Soak

Hadrian's valiant slug-spewing got one good!

[6 Wounds, is at 7 Wounds; next time you get a Triumph, ask me for something cool.]

[Merc's Turn!]

Some orders were barked, and they spread out, two of them seeking new cover while crossing the distance to Lydia's ledge. They knew they had to take out the sniper first. The third did so while advancing toward Hadrian.

[Two are at Long from Lydia, One is at Medium from Hadrian.]

Merc Stealth. Rolling as Difficulty to be beaten by Perception.: 3#1eC+2eD 0 successes, 1 threat 2 failures, 2 threat 1 failure, 1 threat




[Anyone who wants to see them needs to roll Perception as a manoeuvre, one time for all. If this is beaten, they can be targeted as normal.]

However, that one Hadrian had shot wanted some quick revenge. He rushed forth, shooting.

[From Long to Medium by 2 Manoeuvres, Potshot]

That didn't end well as he tripped on some long root and landed into the ferns, face-down, his shots doing nothing more than cutting foliage. That the ferns provided him with some accidental cover was a small blessing.

Merc Shot. Carbine. Medium vs. Hidden Hadrian.: 2eP+1eA+1eC+2eD+1eS 4 failures, 3 advantage, 1 Despair


[The merc is prone and partially hidden via Advantages - Setback on shots against him.]

[Team!]

Damnit, I told you not to rush ahead!

At least his brother got a good shot in. Unfortunately, he wasn't equipped for anything long range, so the most he would could do is move in and prepare to rush to cover. Thankfully his shield was already up prior to all of this, so him not seeing the enemy didn't matter at the moment; Hadrian and Lydia at least had a beat on them. Still, a good leader was in the trenches with his men. Hopefully he could take a good position in cover before the worst happened.

"Let's go! Give them hell, men!"

After he got into position, he got nearby his brother and ducked into cover next to his brother. "You're a crazy bastard running in like that. This time focus your shot!."

~~
Day 3 | Evening | Boom & Bust | Presence Invoked

Day 3 | Evening | Boom & Bust | Forgot the boosts!

Net Successes: 0; Net Advantages: 2
Net Successes: 1; Net Advantages: 0
2 maneuvers spent to move from Extreme to Long. 13 strain remaining.
Action Spent to use Field Commander. All units with Bern can spend 1 strain to take 1 immediate maneuver. All effected units gain 1 boost to Discipline rolls for the next day. Advantages spent to get 2 strain back.
Double Action Spent:
Maneuver to get behind cover close to Bernard. Bern & Hadrain gain 2 soak against ranged attacks.
Day 3 | Evening | Boom & Bust | Tactical Advance (once again!)

Net Successes: 3; Net Advantages: -2
PCs may spend yet another strain to gain yet another immediate maneuver.
11 strain remaining.

Team 1, Hadrian's Foxhole


"I don't know what I was thinking." He said slightly panicked. Watching the bullets race over his head in what felt like slow motion.

He peaked out of the cover to get a good read on where the badguys were. The whole time his heart was racing as the realization of what he was doing set in. But then he saw something very, very good to know. Which he immediately tells the others.

He continued shooting at the merc but missed.



Boom & Bust | Perception check: 2eP+1eA+1eC+2eD 2 successes, 1 threat, 1 Triumph


(Use triumph to see something we can use against our enemies, absorbing strain.)

Boom & Bust | Firing Carbine | Boost from Aim: 2eP+1eB+2eD 0 successes, 1 threat, 1 Triumph


( Bank the second triumph and just miss, second maneuver costs 1 strain thanks to Bern, absorbing threat as strain bringing the round total to 3)


Wound 12/12 | Strain 6/12
0 | 2 ranged defense thanks to Bern
4 Soak