Day 3 | Evening | Boom & Bust

[Kannon]

[Group #3]

...a small grey figure could be seen from the distance just past the entrance, in shade, from her exclusive angle. Seeing Eileen, it froze, but it was only for a split-second. As it jolted out with uncanny speed, it proved to be likely a he, with a uniquely grey skin tone. Though just at he appeared to Eileen, so he disappeared quickly from her side, amid nearby rocks.

Marek.jpg (16.46 KiB) Viewed 1600 times

[2 Manoeuvres, Medium to Engaged, 2 Strain]

It likely was no small surprise to him when he crashed into a welcome party. Surprise all too fast reverted to fanatical hatred. "Powindah!" Knee-jerk reactions encoded in his genome by those who designed him compelled Marek to shoot needles from his sleeves at the one most directly blocking his embarkation. Which happened to be Sinsei.

Round 5. Shooting Darts. Ranged-Light. Engaged. Purple into Challenge because being ambushed.: 4eP+2eB+2eC 4 successes, 7 advantage, 1 Despair

Round 5. Missing Shield Setback.: 1eS 0 successes


[2 Advantage to make both darts hit, 2 Advantage for Setback against Efren's next attack on Marek, 3 Advantage for Upgrade on Efren's next roll on Marek. Despair is for you to use, as per RAW, except the one that allows redirecting to another target.]

Both darts dug into the woman's stomach. The pain was acute [3 Wounds after Soak], but it was not the point. Before Sinsei would realise what had just been done to her, Marek twisted himself to position between her and the military man. But not everything went right for the Tleilaxu...

[Marek's shield is on. It means all damage is strain damage until slow tip penetrates the shield, as per the rules here. With shield on, he also suffers a Setback on any combat roll (it should be difficulty increase as per Cumbersome but I have been confusing it for both sides so let's roll with that). If he's not incapacitated or pushed away or the passage is blocked by his next turn, he will get into the craft. As will he if on his turn he can bring down anyone blocking the passage.]

[Sinsei will get over her Strain threshold due to whatever the darts were coated in at the beginning of the next round, her initiative slot being thus lost. She will drop, appearing lifeless, and so will stop blocking the passage. Getting between her and Marek takes a Manoeuvre. This turn she can act if you wish her to. Her survival beyond the encounter is an open question that cannot be determined without a Medicine check that takes an Action. But it is obvious that if she somehow clings to life, time is of the essence.]

[Marek is Adversary 1]

[Group #3: 3 consecutive turns]

[Ambrose Pantazis]

GROUP #2

When the rockets impacted, Ambrose reacted immediately, pulling back on his yoke and banking his thopter straight up and out of the enemy's range. At the apex of his climb, he let the thopter fall to the side and level off, orienting himself back to face the valley. He looked around to see from where the attack had originated and what the current situation was.

What he saw was more cartel guns trained on the pass. Despite the devastation their camp was suffering, they seemed to be rallying against the Atreides ground forces. They must be inflicting significant casualties, no doubt thanks to Bernard's leadership, because it surely wasn't due to the other three. Though they were soon to become victims of their own success, as they were out manned and out maneuvered with the positions the cartel had taken up.

His job below done, Ambrose tipped his nose toward the pass and proceeded forth, reveling in the moment. This is what it meant to be a pilot, to soar above battlefield and bring a force multiplier to bear on the enemy, or remove the enemy's as the situation may call for.

-----
Statement: "Keep calm and trust your training."
Maneuver #1 Move up to Medium of ground.
Action Perception for battlefield awareness
Maneuver #2 Piloting Move over to Pass.

D3, Evening, B&B, Round #5, Perception, 2adv for boost Statement: 2eP+1eA+1eB+2eD 1 success


D3, Evening, B&B, Round #5, Piloting Move to Pass: 3eP+1eA+2eD 1 success, 3 advantage

2 adv to recover Strain
1 adv banked

Defenses: 5/2 (w/ Shield)
Soak: 3
Wounds: 0/14
Strain: 7/13

Thopter Bravo
Armor: 2
Hull Trauma: 3/8
System Strain: 3/10
Silhouette: 3
Speed: 4 (currently 3)
Shield: Deployed Fore

Pool 2adv, 1triumph

[Kannon]

[Group #4]

Duncan.jpg (41.46 KiB) Viewed 1594 times

Duncan Idaho, apparently overhearing the danger coming from another direction, abandoned the guy he had thoroughly disarmed and launched himself backwards. One the way, coughing because of the gas though suppressing the vomit, he gently picked out the scattergun fron Kiran's hands, adding a disarming smile.

"I'll borrow that."

[Move, Quick Draw to draw the weapon from Kiran's hands as incidental, Move, at 13 Strain.]

He got to the other end of the tunnel, tracking a path among the bodies on the floor that looked like a dance, and fired at the sex slaves owner wannabe.

Round 5. Shot at Balut enthusiast. Short.: 3eP+3eA+2eB+1eD 4 successes, 6 advantage, 1 Triumph


[11 Damage before Soak, 7 After, Activating Knockdown and Critical Injury for 6 Advantage, Triumph to Disarm, he has the same Scattergun, weapon drops into Short from Laila and Kiran, Engaged to Xard.]

Round 5. Shot at Balut enthusiast. Critting.: 1d100+40 67 - Scattered Senses

Duncan timed the pellets to concentrate on the man. Their explosive impact threw him down, made his weapon drop, left him pin-cushioned and stunned with how his chest looked like a chequered crust of raspberry pie now. His instinct was to run, though he couldn't run far. He got to his feet and lurched upward, the opposite to his gun, which was rolling down until it stopped on lying Xard. The Balut retiree who never was didn't realise that he had already been killed. [Get from Prone, move to Medium from Duncan, Extreme from else. He's dead next round.]

Xard didn't pick up the weapon luck had sent him. Already weakened, a stone from the ceiling that had hit his head sent him into darkness. [Xard is over Strain threshold, incapacitated and unconscious, his initiative slot is lost].

Unlike the never-Balut guy, the disarmed one heard support coming from down below.

[Next turn a new merc will enter from Long.]

With Idaho away from him, it emboldened him into action. Seeing the nearest prisoner up on their feet, he lunged to bring them back down with a smack and buy his fellow mercs the time to flood the place.

[Move to Engaged to Kiran, Brawl.]

Round 5. Brawl.: 2eP+1eA+2eD 3 successes, 1 threat


His hit hurt, but Kiran stood their ground for now.

[6 Wounds, 3 after Soak, Threat to Merc's Strain. He's Short from Laila, Medium from Duncan.]

[Group #4: 2 consecutive turns]

[Laila Bridger]

Group 4

Laila gave a coughing snarl as she cut the wire on her legs, trying to ignore the drool seeping from between her teeth as her body reacted to the gas..

Free.

Then she found another great use for the knife in her hands, giving it a vicious sling into the mercenary's side.

The adrenaline of finally getting to DO something to one of these fuckers sang in her blood, and for that moment, the gas hardly seemed to bother her, and she rose to her feet.

--
Cut legs free as Maneuver (1 more wound taken), then sling knife as an action, then stand as a second Maneuver for 2 strain
Ranged- Light, short range, setback for prone, "Go Down Fighting": 1eD+1eS+3eP+1eA 3 successes, 2 advantage


According to our Glorious GM Overlord, that means 7 damage

Using advantages to remove Strain, meaning the gas basically doesn't do anything to her this round- but the second Maneuver does.

[Kannon]

[Group #4]

The merc's knife returned to him in the manner he probably liked least. It lodged into his side.

[7 Wounds, 3 after Soak, at 8 Wounds; Laila is free & standing but armless, Kiran is free & standing but armless. Balutophile's scattergun & Xard is at Short from both, knife is in the merc, Engaged with Kiran. Gripping it and twisting is a manoeuvre and Melee Action.]

[Kiran's turn!]

[Kannon]

[Group #2]

The mercs with rocket launchers reloaded... and ran out of targets as the thopters above them veered up and elsewhere. It would take their leaders a moment to come up with new, implementable tactics given the complexity and unpredictability of their unenviable circumstances.

[End of Round #5 for Group #2. Group #2 is dissolved, Ambrose joins Group #1 for Round #6, adding a slot at the bottom of initiative order.]

[There are no on-screen Atreides assets in the valley theatre.]

[Efren Lanville]

[Group #3]

Efren saw the darts fly past and into Sinsei the second the man entered the field. The rage which Efren had been quietly suppressing began to burn brightly throughout his whole body.

This was the man doing this to his people.

In a commanding voice he positioned himself between Marek and the ship and ordered, "In the name of House Atreides and the Muadh people... Yield."

He then tore into his attack sequence... hard ingrained in him since childhood. The man dodged carefully, but Efren's rage pressed him forward striking again and again.

----

Despair to make Marek go last in Initiative order.

Maneuver to get between him and the ship. Another Maneuver (2 strain) for Aim.

D3 Marek Fight, Attack 1, Aim, Roots Statement, Ones Before Statement, Defensive 2, 2 Upgrades: 4eP+1eB+2eC+2eS 4 failures, 6 advantage, 1 Triumph


Triumph to have him go prone. 3 Advantages to remove his Defensive 2 from the shield. 2 Advantages for a Boost to my next attack. 1 Advantage to boost the next person in combat.

Remaining:
Wounds: 18
Strain: 12

Ranged Defense: 0
Melee Defense: 0
Soak Value: 6, 7 against Blast

[Cuyler Gray]

[Group #3]

Cuyler's mind raced, trying to decide what to do. What could she do? They needed an edge, something that would help them maintain an advantage. Anything to make it harder for this man to get away.

An idea came to her and she stepped back as she took off her Parachute. She released it and let it cover him.

- - -
Manuever: Step Back
Manuver (Two Strain): Remove Parachute

Day 3 | Evening | Boom & Bust, Release Parachute on Marek, Easy Light Ranged with 2 Upgrades, "What we do will return to us": 1eA+1eP+1eD+1eC+1eS 1 success


Cuyler's Missing Boost: 1eB 1 success, 1 advantage


[Boost to Next]

[Kannon]

[Group #3]

Marek.jpg (16.46 KiB) Viewed 1537 times

Marek had no intention to yield. The survival of this gene copy was largely insignificant to the Plan, even though the loss of his memories would be a setback to the Masheikhs. Such bountiful research! If only genetic memories could be retrieved! Perhaps one day. The termination of this operation would be a disappointment to his Master, he didn't want to make it any worse.

Still, he shrieked with rage when his passage was first blocked, then subverted. Before he could do something about it, he was assaulted shield on shield and though the Atreides failed to penetrate it, he managed to topple him. Just when Marek was getting ready to outmanoeuvre this pretentious slab of dung, a splash of linen fell on him.

[Marek is Prone and Ensnared (no manoeuvres until free). But since the material covers his shield, his silhouette and whatever he's doing is unseen and there is an additional Challenge die on all hits against him, unless someone dives under the parachute.]

[Group #3 Turn!]

[Efren Lanville]

[Group #3]

Efren continued his assault on the prone shape of a man wrapped in the parachute. Landing a blow despite the difficulty.

----
Maneuver to Aim. Hit for 7 damage before Soak (Brawn 4 + 1 Success + 1 Feral Strength + 1 Knife).

D3 Marek Fight, Attack 2, Aim, Prone Bonus, Roots Statement, Ones Before Statement, Bonus from me (2 adv), 2 Upgrades: 4eP+3eB+2eC 1 success, 1 advantage


D3 Marek Fight, Attack 2, Extra boost: 1eB 1 success


D3 Marek fight rerolling stuff: 1eA+1eD 0 successes, 1 threat


End of Round for us I believe.

[Kannon]

[Group #3]

Despite the ropes scattered over the narrow space Efren managed to land a hit from above into the rough shape, though it was not timed well to penetrate the shield, leaving a small tear in the chute. Still, every hit was making the shield a bit denser, sucking the air out.

[Marek is at 6 Strain.]

Roughly then, Sinsei collapsed, her eyes glassy.

[End of Round #5 for Group #3]

[Lydia Storm]

[Group #1]

Lydia had no intention of getting anywhere closer to that repeater and check with her own body if she was in range. She was already wounded. Besides, her ledge had a body on it and she had no fetish of shooting while crouching on the corpses of fallen enemies [Stay at Extreme].

Fortunately, her position was good enough. She changed the ammo again with even pace to conserve strength. [Manoeuvre].

She decided to drop an explosive surprise not at the shielded guy, but at the woman right next to him.

Round 5 Shot at Fortified Mercs. Blast Ammo. Statement. Extreme.: 3eP+1eA+2eB+1eC+3eD+3eS 0 successes, 1 threat


Alas, it exploded on their defences [Threat to Strain].

[Bernard Martikova]

Group 1
(Flavor text later when more stable net happens)

~~

D3 Battle Thread. | Once More Into the Breach Dear Friends (Leadership for free maneuvers for 1 strain cost)

Net Successes: 2; Net Advantages: 2

Everyone gets one free maneuver for 1 strain. Advantages spent to boost Lydia's next pew pew. Maneuver spent for cover.

[Lydia Storm]

Lydia noticed that the Atreides below were doing something semi-efficient for once, and distracting her targets. Why not to use the opening?

[2 Manoeuvres to Super Aim, 1 Strain, Boost from Bernard.]

Round 5 Shot at Fortified Mercs. Blast Ammo. Statement. Extreme. Super Aim and Aid.: 3eP+1eA+5eB+1eC+3eD+3eS 6 failures, 4 advantage


[The fuck with this roll o.0. I shouldn't be ghosting. Do your own rolls, people, these dice better be GM's.]

This time the munition exploded within the fortification, though to negligible outcomes.

[Activating Blast. 1 Strain to the commander, 2 wounds to the woman. 1 Advantage to regain strain.]

[End of Round #5 for Group #1]

[Kiran Alsahar]

[Group #4]

Kiran knew that they were running out of time here. The course they were on would lead to their deaths - swarmed by the mercenaries, buried under a cave-in, succumbing to the toxin, like Xard.

Survival is the ability to swim in strange water. They recalled, but couldn't trace the root of that memory. If there is no path, make it. This one seemed... recent.

"You are about to die here." They said to the merc. "Duncan Idaho will kill you. And for what? Your boss has abandoned you. He wants to collapse this cave on all of us. Leave and live. Stay and die." Their own delivery got them the sense of a deja vu, a distant echo.

Action: Coercing the Merc. Statement. 'Free' upgrade.: 3eP+1eA+1eC+2eD 0 successes, 1 advantage


The argument didn't exactly get across. Kiran made one mistake: they had assumed the merc was still human, while his mind was already gone amid fear, pain, and mental inflexibility. He wasn't a survivor.

[Kiran loses 2 strain from gas, regains 1, 10/15. Move back to where Xard is.]

[End of Round #5 for Group ##4]

[Kannon]

[Round #6, Group #3]

They had Marek where they wanted him, though not how they wanted him. Sinsei's empty, catatonic stare was one reminder that this little man was ruthless and cunning. All the dramatic things that had been unfolding were lost on Eileen, however, as the no-field obscured it. What wasn't lost on her was something in the skies.

[Intiative Order, Marek's turn delayed by Despair]

Team
Team
Team
Marek (6 Strain)

[A thopter enters at the top of initiative next round]

[Kannon]

[Round #6 for Group #4]

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Leaving the merc to deliriously ruminate about his dream Balut estate during the last second of his life, Duncan sharply turned back into the midst of the cave where his friends needed help. He could withstand a bit more of this gas, he thought. The other merc didn't seem like running.

"You heard them." Duncan said raspily, saving his breath, then lent credence to Kiran's ultimatum.

Round 6. Scattergun vs. Clueless Merc.: 3eP+3eA+2eB+1eD 4 successes, 5 advantage, 1 Triumph


The pellets ran the man through [11 Damage, Dead], giving him no chance of second thoughts. But only a few of them. The rest rained into the archway of the downward tunnel, making parts of it chip off and pile into the passage. [Activating Blast w/ 3 Advantage, using Triumph to create an environmental effect: crossing the small cave-in requires an Action.]

"Time to go. Grab Xard." Duncan blew the gas out of his nostrils. He could hold his breath for a while as long as he wasn't compelling his muscles to cry for oxygen. [2 Advantage to offset gas.]

The merc rushing in managed to dig her heels into the cave floor before she'd have got pinned down by the falling rock.

[Long to Medium]

[Group #4 - 2 consecutive turns]

[Laila Bridger]

Some tiny part of Laila, some terrified cornered rat corner of her mind, wanted to snap that they should abandon the useless bastard. He'd contributed nothing.

But...

For reasons she couldn't articulate clearly, Laila felt like she almost remembered something about him. A terrified child? Protecting a terrified child?

He wasn't a child, it was absurd, but... somehow the impression stayed with her.

You'd protect a terrified child, wouldn't you? You'd do anything you could for them.

Admit it, Bridger.

They didn't shoot your soul off in the war.

And this poor man needs your help.

She moved through the gas to Xard, and crouched down to pick him up as gently as she was able.

Besides, he's a father, worried for his daughter. Your last words to your own father were harsh, and you'll take that to your grave.

Especially since you know he'd have forgiven you if you'd ever gotten to speak to him again

They hadn't been able to save the Muadh taken with them, and she was certainly furious about that, wanted to pick up the scattergun and start killing, but...

Remain Human.

Where had that come from?

No matter. It made sense.

Laila lifted the battered, unconscious man in her arms, careful of the wire still cruelly binding his wrists. He wasn't all that heavy, even as unconscious dead weight. She spoke softly to him, through the rasping quality the gas was lending her voice.

"It's okay, I've got you."

He almost certainly couldn't hear her, but that was no problem.
Something about it seemed to center her.

It felt good. Right.

"Kiran, grab the gun if you can, but get out of here either way... Duncan.. keep... Duncaning."

---
Maneuver to Xard, Action to pick him up. 2 strain from the gas, would take her to 3 strain.
Average Athletics to pick Xard up and carry him, "Remain Human" statement: 2eD+3eP+1eA+2eB 6 successes, 3 advantage


Using the three advantages to recover strain.

Laila is at 6 strain.

[Kannon]

[Round #6 for Group #1]

New Initiative Order

Mercs x 4
Team x 4
Ambrose

For the guardians of the pass, the incoming thopter was no good news, but it's not like they didn't have some countermeasures. At least a dozen more mercs had been climbing up fast into the fortified area. [They are out of reach for ground PCs, Medium to Ambrose, they benefit from Challenge & 3 Setback entrenched positions.] The time to overwhelm the Atreides harriers was nigh. The key was to keep them at bay for just a bit more.

That made their commander, once an Uchani spacedrop shock trooper sergeant, self-assured. He might not have been if the fog of war wasn't obscuring the full extent of the situation from him but all he saw now were targets lined up for minigun fire. He took it slow, letting one of the others to take a first shot for good measurement.

The first shot went toward Dominic, who had proved to be the most deadly and was the most exposed now, which was only partially true given how the sergeant's drill talk had given him a strong indication it was time to turn the shield back on [Free Manoeuvre, at 10 Strain]. That shot, however, went wide.

Round 6. Merc Longshot. Aim.: 2eP+1eA+1eB+3eD+5eS 1 failure, 1 threat


[Threat to your Advantage Pool.]

The woman who had just been caught in the blast sought cover from another instead of looking for a replacement for a weapon she'd dropped. She used her time to set up a tripod for her commander's minigun [Manouvre into cover, Action to make the boss shoot without Cumbersome].

The third merc sought out a better weapon than he'd had for what he was about to do. It was just in that case near him. His gun had insufficient reach to harm Atreides anyway.

Finally, the boss rained fire. [Strain up to 3 for double Aim.]

In the end, it was Bernard's cover that made the Uchani miscalculate the distance [The last Setback made him miss!], and instead of a devastating shredding of the Atreides he just destroyed all vegetation two feet away from where Bernard and Dominic were crouching. That straight line drew their perimeter pretty acutely and left little space for imagination what could have become of them had this hit.

Round 6. Minigun (Sidewinder). Long. Gunnery. Autofire. Double Aim. First target Bernard, second Dominic if Autofire triggers.: 2eP+2eA+2eB+4eD+6eS 0 successes, 3 threat, 1 Triumph


[Triumph to add 1 more Ranged Defence until the end of next turn, 3 Threat is for you to use. Can be a RAW effect or taken into your pool as Advantage.]

[Team Turn!]

[Efren Lanville]

As Marek struggled around in the parachute, Efren looked carefully to assess the anatomy of the man his mind reverted to his training and the Sardaukar technique that Duncan Idaho showed him and the other commandos. He stabbed and slowly drove his blade through the chute and into the shield device.

Feeling it disengage he turned the knife to slam into the torso of the man and said with a mixture of rage and command, "I said YIELD!"

Efren tapped on his own shield as he struggled to withdraw himself from the chute momentarily.

----

2 Maneuvers to Aim (2 Strain), 2 Triumphs to break the Shield, 8 Damage (4 Brawn, 2 Successes, +1 Knife, +1 Feral), Pierce 2. Incidental to turn on Shield.

D3 Marek Fight, Attack 3, Aim x2, Roots Statement, Prone: 3eP+1eA+3eB+2eC+1eD 3 successes, 1 advantage, 2 Triumph, 1 Despair


D3 Marek Fight, Attack 3 Shield is Defensive Again: 2eS 1 failure, 1 threat


Remaining:
Wounds: 18
Strain: 10

Ranged Defense: 5
Melee Defense: 2
Soak Value: 6, 7 against Blast