The Leonine Games [Afternoon 1]

[Emcas]

Emcas did not hesitate

Taming the lions: Vigilence, Upgrade from statement: 2eP+1eA 1 success, 2 advantage

[Cuyler Gray]

Cuyler instinctively placed herself between Xard and the lions, moving towards them as she considered her options.

- - -
The Leonine Games [Afternoon 1], Vigilance, Uncanny Reactions

Net Successes: 1; Net Advantages: 1

[Hadrian Martikova]

'Oh look, the worst came to pass.' Hadrian grumbled as he calmly rose from his seat.

Cool (Lion Event): 2eP+1eA 5 successes


(If there is a cache of stunners nearby he would begin handing them out to those who aren't armed.)

[Nirilli]

Oh no! This needed quick resolution with the minimum harm done.

Nirilli was ready to draw the Lion's attention with a suitable distraction. It was her training as an entertainer. In this case, she planned to mimic the call of birds who are a prey for the lions. Something that will cause them to hesitate. Look away from the crowd towards a point that is unoccupied, in a direction people are not fleeing.


Initiative:
Cool 1, Presence 4
https://sakkaku.org/r/18501
Net success 3, net advantage 2

planned action:
"Distracting Behavior" at 15 pt level, multi-target, extended range

[Kannon]

Lions, Init.: 2#1eP+2eA 1 success, 1 advantage 0 successes, 5 advantage

Initiative Order, Round 1
Almost All Players, Then Lions [Starting at Long], Then the Last Player

Important! Because of the size and scale of a theatre and everything moving at once any attempt to notice or find something in the pandemonium to ensue that is not related to zeroing in on the rampaging lions requires a Perception or Computation Roll, hence an Action for the Round, unless individual mechanics says otherwise. Hence, I will not be describing the NPC actions, situations and whereabouts for the encounter unless a player decides situational awareness is worth their Action. Otherwise treat it as a blur. This reflects that for the encounter intuitive is faster, tactical is slower. But it may also mean careless or sweeping actions may be hard to contain in their unforeseen consequences. The combat is happening in a chaotic system in which controlling more than a handful of variables is impossible.

Logistical Rule. This is to keep the pace of the encounter. After a post, any next player who has not yet acted this Round has up to 6 hours to act. If they don't, that turn is considered forfeited due to indecision and the next 6-hour run begins. The rule won't be enforced over the weekend, but if the pace of the combat is bad it will be from Monday on.

[Sister Shinah]

Shinah decides to participate in the impromptu lion wrangling, albeit not very quickly.

Cool (Lion Event Init)

Net Successes: 0; Net Advantages: 2

[Laila Bridger]

This was insane. Completely and utterly nuts.

But she had body armor, she had a shield, and she'd been in combat before. She didn't want to die- the thought was terrifying- but she'd beaten longer odds.

She'd beaten longer odds just that week, in fact.

So Laila activated her shield and moved toward the roaring beasts. Her main goal was to keep at least one of them focused on her, instead of on any particularly helpless bystanders.

So, given that the lions were plenty pissed off and agitated, she raised her arms as she approached and gave the ululating war-cry that Auntie had taught, looking to draw some feline attention.

This was going to hurt.

[Laila Free Maneuver- Maneuver closer (From Long to Medium)
Laila Character Action: Activate Shield
Incidental: Zaghrouta!

17 Wounds
14 Strain remaining
Soak value of 6 (Padded Armor plus Commando spec abilities), plus whatever the shield does for her soak]

[Cuyler Gray]

Cuyler looked for something that could distract the lions, thinking a strong smell would probably stand out to them more than sight or sound. Food might work best.

* * *
The Leonine Games [Afternoon 1], Looking for Lion Bait, Perception, Uncanny Senses

Net Successes: 3; Net Advantages: 3

[Hadrian Martikova]

Hadrian looked around the area. His first hope was a cache of unoccupied stunners they could all use. Barring that he'd settle for a food stand.

"I have an idea..."

Perception | Looking for either a weapon or a food stand: 2eP+1eA 1 success, 3 advantage


__________
Soak: 4
Strain: 12|0
Wounds: 12|0

[Kannon]

Whatever their instincts or ideas, they found no grounding in the ensuing chaos. The Hypatean dignitaries from 178 W were already rushing upward, away from the lions, barring the line of sight to whatever leftover snacks or emergency cashes that may or may not be anywhere out there.

Counter-Perception; Cuyler, Hadrian: 2#3eD+1eS 3 failures, 3 threat 3 failures, 3 threat



[Perfect foil, Advantage and Threat Pools Empty]
[2 players more, then lions.]

[Kannon]

This was insane. Completely and utterly nuts.

But she had body armor, she had a shield, and she'd been in combat before. She didn't want to die- the thought was terrifying- but she'd beaten longer odds.

She'd beaten longer odds just that week, in fact.

So Laila activated her shield and moved toward the roaring beasts. Her main goal was to keep at least one of them focused on her, instead of on any particularly helpless bystanders.

So, given that the lions were plenty pissed off and agitated, she raised her arms as she approached and gave the ululating war-cry that Auntie had taught, looking to draw some feline attention.

This was going to hurt.

[Laila Free Maneuver- Maneuver closer (From Long to Medium)
Laila Character Action: Activate Shield
Incidental: Zaghrouta!

17 Wounds
14 Strain remaining
Soak value of 6 (Padded Armor plus Commando spec abilities), plus whatever the shield does for her soak]

The idea that any frenzied lion would trade an ample supply of cornered fresh meat smelling of fear just at their maws to some impungent noise-making animal in a carapace way up was no less insane. Laila had to realise that it was no longer an issue whether the beasts would kill someone. The question was how many before they could be stopped.

[Laila has escalated down to 178 W]

[Cuyler Gray]

Cuyler sighed. The snacks she'd bought on the way up would have to suffice. She followed Laila. Maybe an offering of food and a friendly tone would distract them. Probably not.

[Nirilli]

Nirilli raced towards the lions with the grace of a dancer. A natural athlete. She had to do something to help!

She moved close enough that she could get their attention, as only a trained performer could. She perfectly mimicked the loud cry of a species of birds who were a delectable prey for the lions.

A sound that would at least make them divert their attention!

If it made them choose to move towards her or attack her, so be it. Better that she be harmed than any guest present.

(OOC: She moves and does a maneuver - her signature "Distracting Behavior" talent, which she has twice for a total of 20 xp invested, 5 and 15. This gives her sufficient range. The power works. She takes 2 strain to impact 2 lions. (She can impact up to 3 NPCs; the power is limited by her cunning of 3.) The lions take the penalty dice per the power description attached. Ideally this causes them to do less harm than they might otherwise have done.)

[Sister Shinah]

If only Shinah had taken the time to memorize the floorplan and layout of the arena in case something untoward or unexpected might happen.

Oh wait.

Falling back on mental recall techniques, she considered where the best locations would be to lure and trap the lions without doing them undue harm: blind hallways that could be closed off once the great cat was in there, closets, and the like.

Concocting her plan, Shinah then proceeded to skulk about to bring it to action. The only thing she was still calculating was how much live bait might be needed to get it done...

Skullduggery vs. Lions

Net Successes: 3; Net Advantages: 2

[Hadrian Martikova]

Hadrian raced off after Laila. Along the way he kept searching desperately for... anything.

[Kannon]

[Following Laila, Hadrian, Cuyler & Nirilli get to Medium from the lions, together on a downward escalator, travelling in opposite direction than most people who are hogging the parallel upward one.]

Nirilli's qaraa squawk did indeed get the lions mildly distracted, though not enough to conquer the promise of properly blooded primate meat. Local fauna was only so good with its copper-manganese redox proteins. Humans, like lions, had been imported to this planet.

[2 Threat for them. As I am not going to be rolling this turn for them and it is only until next turn, I'll give it as 2 Advantage into your pool.]
[Player Pool: 4 Advantage]

Shinah's understanding of the containment strategy relied on cutting lions off from freely descending on escalators toward the east, further away from the 180-meridian than they were. So the choke point depended on the level they could be cut off from. Anyone who would not have fled beyond that point would be up from predation, and likely beyond saving as long as lions were unrestrained and murderous.

The cut-off point could be reached either by bee-lining down the in-sphere escalators and somehow getting past the lions, or by taking an emergency exist to out-sphere emergency staircases. The nearest re-entry spot was 175 W.

In terms of stopping the escalators, it was likely within the powers of the Strategos just one flight of stairs up from them, though Shinah had no idea whether they could be paused selectively or a sector at once. She could always find out by shorting the nearest one...

Decisions, decisions.

[Shinah is still entitled to Manoeuvres before the round concludes.]

[Kannon]

Lions.jpg (84.23 KiB) Viewed 2880 times

The lions' rage was both nominally and really blind. The did rely on other senses to mostly sufficient extent. One clawed and bit into the human mass clogging the upward escalator, opening them for their blood to splash around freely. The other tumbled down the escalator, smashing with its body into the fleeing crowd at 176 W, pawing at random to grotesque effects.

[One lion is at Medium, the other lion tumbled to Long.]
[Emcas' Turn!]

[Emcas]

With one hand Emcas undid the clasp that held his overgarment together to reveal the ceremonial Qaraa feathered armor beneath and with the other he affixed his helm as dashed towards the lions.

Has he closed in he roared in challenge, hoping to draw the beast's attention

----
Action and manoeuvre: move to close with one of the lions (long to medium, medium to close)
17 Wounds
13 Strain remaining
Soak value of 7

[Sister Shinah]

[Shinah is still entitled to Manoeuvres before the round concludes.]

A plan formed in Shinah's head and off she went to get it done - discreetly, as was her wont.

(Using maneuver to head towards the emergency staircases. Not sure how that resolves in terms of range bands but that's the direction I'm headed.)

[Kannon]

[You are still at Long to lions, moving perpendicular to them before you can move on the other side of the Oon's shell.]

Round 2

Once the blood started flowing the mayhem reached next level.

"Remain calm. Resolution is on the way. It will be over soon."

The Archon's voice deafened the tumult and the cries for a moment. Her message suffered an overlap from the one from Strategos roughly midway through. Philadelophos had roughly the same thing to say.

[Out-of-focus NPC movements.]

[Round 2! 5 PCs first.]