"We'll take the tram over to another lift and proceed down from there." Cain glances at Viswanat, and the dataslate he's holding. "I'm sure he's already figured out that's the easiest place to get in."
The ride of the lift is uneventful this time, and you board the tram without incident. There are a fair number of passengers aboard, but there is still enough room for you to stand together comfortably.
Cain looks you all over again. "I can't say you're all dressed to blend in," he says, looking at Paba and Parthus. "And I'm frankly surprised you haven't been stopped by the Arbites yet with that amount of weaponry on you, preacher," he says to Boaz. "It doesn't matter what you're wearing once we're down below, of course, but generally people on these sorts of trips try not to draw attention to themselves."
"I don't know why I'm bothering giving you advice on this anyway," Cain says dismissively. "Not like anyone will remember me being here, with you drawing all the stares. Oh, this is our stop."
The tram slows and you all disembark and follow Cain to the lift. You notice that unlike the earlier lift, this one has armed guards posted at the entrance. They don't appear to pay any mind as you and the (relatively small) crowd board.
"There's a perpetual salvage-slash-repair operation going on down there," Cain says as the lift starts to descend. "Well, not to repair the collapsed part really, but to seal it off from the rest of the hive. Some nasty beasties have taken up residence in there, and I remember a couple years ago it was found out some anti-Imperium group was basing their operations out of somewhere in there."
"But I don't think anyone honestly believes the ruins are going to get sealed off entirely," he adds. "The guards are just around in case anything the officials don't like tries to come up here, to the 'civilized parts'."
The lift you're on seems more utilitarian and antiquated, but at the same time it operates at a much higher speed than the lift you were on before. It reached its destination faster than you expected. You follow Cain off the lift and he leads you through a maze of hovels and half-abandoned factories. It's been almost ten minutes and you're becoming rather annoyed by his silence, but before you question him he stops in front of a rusting door of a decaying building, seemingly the same as all the others.
"Here we are," he says, and he unlocks the door with a key from his robe and it swings open smoothly and quietly, contrary to its appearance. He lets you all enter and then he shuts and locks the door. Inside, you see there is a large grate covering a hole in the floor. You can see there is a ladder welded to the floor, leading down into the dark. Cain unlocks the grate with another key, and then gestures to the hole. "Turn on whatever lights you have and go on down," he says. "There won't be any other sources of light for a while."
Cain scowls with annoyance. "It doesn't really make any difference, I suppose." He hands you the key and activates a small light attached to his belt, then begins to climb down the ladder. After a minute or two, you hear him shouting from below. "Hurry up, then!"
Cain takes his key back from Paba, then motions for everyone to follow him. He begins to lead you down a tunnel that quickly grows in size. "We're in one of the old maintenance tunnels for this level now," Cain says. "These are still relatively untouched since the collapse, for a couple kilometers at least. Just stick close."
You turn a corner and find the tunnel is blocked by a collapsed part of the ceiling. "This wasn't here last time," Cain says, smugly. "See, this is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about earlier. Well... do you want to try cutting through it, or shall we backtrack and go an alternate route?"
"Nah... just cut a hole big enough for us to duck through on one side, and it'll hold still," Cain says. "These tunnels are stone and duracrete - it's tough to cut through but it's plenty stable, too."
"Or we can take a detour, if you don't want to take the time cutting."
Viswanat pulls out an Auspex and begins scanning the collapsed duracrete. "I may be able to discover a less structurally sound section of the debris; it might save us some time on clearing the passage. Although I do wish to point out our limited fuel supply on the lascutter. The detour could be the more frugal option.
Perception check with a +20 (I believe) for the Auspex to find an easier spot to cut through. Could you roll the dice for me, DarkPrimus?
delroland on
EVE: Online - the most fun you will ever have not playing a game.
"Go up, thou bald head." -2 Kings 2:23
The auspex shows that part of the collapsed ceiling is weaker, near the left wall at about shoulder-height.
Boaz:
As Viswanat scans the collapsed ceiling, you hear a faint sound, like someone popping their thumb in the side of their mouth. You hear it once, then again, then several more times, in a somewhat regular rhythm.
"Ah, the Spirit of the Auspex favors us. This section here appears to be less sound and should prove easier to clear." Viswanat reaches for the lascutter, readying it to slice a hole large enough to let the group through. "Cain, this is your element: do you believe it a better choice to breach the passage or to find a detour?"
delroland on
EVE: Online - the most fun you will ever have not playing a game.
"Go up, thou bald head." -2 Kings 2:23
Cain purses his lips for a moment, thinking. "A detour will take a fair amount more time, but if there's been a collapse here, this route may have other obstacles I am unaware of further along."
"The shortest path between two points is a straight line, and since we do not know the condition of the detour, nor that of this tunnel beyond the collapse, cutting would seem to be the prudent choice." Nodding in satisfaction at his point, Viswanat activates the 'cutter, its brilliant beam turning the duraplast to molten slag at the point of contact.
delroland on
EVE: Online - the most fun you will ever have not playing a game.
"Go up, thou bald head." -2 Kings 2:23
Cuttingduraplast is not especially hard work for a forge worlder, but it does take time. It's taken about eight minutes for Viswanat to cut out about half the size hole they need to get through comfortably.
Viswanat:
You think you see something out of the corner of your eye, but the glare of the lascutter makes it impossible to see anything else clearly.
The Scrivener pauses in his work. "I believe I detected movement inside." He deactivates the 'cutter and sets it to the side, then dons a pair of photo-visors, scanning for any further movement inside the hole. "Give me a moment..."
Paba shines his torch on the ceiling of the tunnel, illuminating a hideous creature clinging effortlessly to the tunnel above you with four limbs, about a meter long and covered in course gray fur.
Its head is bisected vertically by some sort of line. Three eyes dot each side of its face, narrowed and glowing blue in the torch's light. Its head seems to split open and the vertical line is revealed to be an enormous mouth filled with needle-like teeth, and it lets out a screeching yowl that seems to echo down the tunnel.
You realize after a moment that the sound is more than an echo - there are several more of these horrible things down here, on both sides of the collapsed ceiling, and they are all responding to this one's cry.
"Oh, merciful God-Emperor," Cain says, standing up and pulling a knife from his robes. "Frexid!"
"Lemme see if ah can scare the buggers off now," Paba says as he falls into a state of meditation. He begins channeling the essence of the night creatures of his homeworld, he calls upon the emp'rah to guide his mind and scatter his foes before him.
I don't have my character sheet and crap with me, so can you roll me up a fear aura (whatever it is).
Parthus: The cries of the Frexid brings back long-suppressed memories of the predators that prowled the forests of your homeworld, and, despite the watchful eye of the village hunters, still managed to sneak into homes and drag your childhood friend away to be feasted upon.
Cannot willingly approach the things that have frightened him, but may otherwise act normally, with a -10 penalty to all Tests for the rest of the encounter. Also gains 1 Insanity Point
Viswanat: You turn to see what the commotion is about, but the light and sound of the lascutter manages to distract you from the full shock of the appearance of these feral beasts.
Cain brandishes his knife and stands his ground. "Point your lights down the tunnel, try and shoot them before they get in striking range!" he shouts.
Right now there is one Frexid in close proximity to you (about 1 m vertically and 1 m horizontally away), and an unknown number of Frexid headed towards you that you cannot see and don't know how far away they are. It seems like there might also be Frexid on the other side of the wall, but again, you don't know for certain how many or where.
Viswant fires at the lone visible Frexid, which starts at the sound of him dropping the lascutter, and looks over at him just in time to take a slug to the face. Gore explodes from the exit wound, and although the creature is clearly dead, it still hangs limply from the ceiling.
((You're close enough. I forgot to include this in previous rolls, but when you are rolling for your chance to hit on a Frexid, factor in a -10 penalty because of their size.))
Posts
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
Cain looks you all over again. "I can't say you're all dressed to blend in," he says, looking at Paba and Parthus. "And I'm frankly surprised you haven't been stopped by the Arbites yet with that amount of weaponry on you, preacher," he says to Boaz. "It doesn't matter what you're wearing once we're down below, of course, but generally people on these sorts of trips try not to draw attention to themselves."
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
The tram slows and you all disembark and follow Cain to the lift. You notice that unlike the earlier lift, this one has armed guards posted at the entrance. They don't appear to pay any mind as you and the (relatively small) crowd board.
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
"But I don't think anyone honestly believes the ruins are going to get sealed off entirely," he adds. "The guards are just around in case anything the officials don't like tries to come up here, to the 'civilized parts'."
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
"Here we are," he says, and he unlocks the door with a key from his robe and it swings open smoothly and quietly, contrary to its appearance. He lets you all enter and then he shuts and locks the door. Inside, you see there is a large grate covering a hole in the floor. You can see there is a ladder welded to the floor, leading down into the dark. Cain unlocks the grate with another key, and then gestures to the hole. "Turn on whatever lights you have and go on down," he says. "There won't be any other sources of light for a while."
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
"Or we can take a detour, if you don't want to take the time cutting."
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
"Go up, thou bald head." -2 Kings 2:23
1d100=51. Per 34 + 20 bonus = 54. Success.
Viswanat:
Boaz:
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
"Go up, thou bald head." -2 Kings 2:23
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
"Go up, thou bald head." -2 Kings 2:23
Viswanat:
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
"Hmph. Must be nothing." Viswanat removes the visors, turning his back to the hole to retrieve the lascutter.
"Go up, thou bald head." -2 Kings 2:23
"Hmph, you're pretty good with that," Cain says. "That hole's almost finished, ain't it?"
Boaz:
Paba:
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
Its head is bisected vertically by some sort of line. Three eyes dot each side of its face, narrowed and glowing blue in the torch's light. Its head seems to split open and the vertical line is revealed to be an enormous mouth filled with needle-like teeth, and it lets out a screeching yowl that seems to echo down the tunnel.
You realize after a moment that the sound is more than an echo - there are several more of these horrible things down here, on both sides of the collapsed ceiling, and they are all responding to this one's cry.
"Oh, merciful God-Emperor," Cain says, standing up and pulling a knife from his robes. "Frexid!"
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
Shock result: 1d100 =18+10 = 28.
You will suffer a -10 penalty for all Tests for the rest of this encounter unless you can recover your wits.
Paba: The sight of the Frexid startles you, but you keep your fear under control, and begin to channel the feeling to project back at these predators
Parthus: The cries of the Frexid brings back long-suppressed memories of the predators that prowled the forests of your homeworld, and, despite the watchful eye of the village hunters, still managed to sneak into homes and drag your childhood friend away to be feasted upon.
Shock result: 1d100 +20=52
Cannot willingly approach the things that have frightened him, but may otherwise act normally, with a -10 penalty to all Tests for the rest of the encounter. Also gains 1 Insanity Point
Viswanat: You turn to see what the commotion is about, but the light and sound of the lascutter manages to distract you from the full shock of the appearance of these feral beasts.
Initiative order:
Cain: 13
Viswanat: 10
Frexid: 10
Boaz: 7
Parthus: 6
Paba: 5
Cain brandishes his knife and stands his ground. "Point your lights down the tunnel, try and shoot them before they get in striking range!" he shouts.
Right now there is one Frexid in close proximity to you (about 1 m vertically and 1 m horizontally away), and an unknown number of Frexid headed towards you that you cannot see and don't know how far away they are. It seems like there might also be Frexid on the other side of the wall, but again, you don't know for certain how many or where.
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
Half: ready pistol
Half: attack Frexid: 1d100=35 vs. BS+10 (laser sight), hit! damage: 1d10+3=12
"Go up, thou bald head." -2 Kings 2:23
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
Another Frexid leaps out of the hole that Viswanat carved, and jjujmps at Parthus, teeth bared. However, its bite fails to pierce his armor.
Damage:1d10+2=4
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
((if he's not close enough, that should be a half-action move and standard attack))
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar