But before Reject can write-up anything, I shall hijack this thread again for my own means
Scenario title: The Gathering Storm
Unfortunately, neither Azael nor Desocupado could come, but Deso's char has been hijacked by Hoodoo, while I assumed direct control over Azael (read: he was nothing more than a combat bot because I really can't be arsed to larp with myself).
So our players find themselves in a hostile environment, or at least an environment that isn't quite welcoming. There is no civilisation in sight, and the only landmark is the fuckhueg meteor that crashed somewhere on the horizon. The path leads through a rather thick forest
The scum seems unconscious for reasons unknown despite my powergamed high int and medicae checks.
Zzzzzzzzz
Time for something tasteful
*sits down and meditates* I do not detect any lifeforms other than fauna in proximity.
Well then, guess we'll have to go through the forest and try to seek out the comet.
[awareness] Hey guys, there's a weird purple cloud in the sky, anyone know what it might be?
[common lore: Imperium fail] Nope
[forbidden lore: Warp fail] Well, I don't either. *Shrug* let's move on.
The players move into the forest and keep marching for almost a day. Then they realise they haven't eaten for quite some time now and didn't bother to pack any supplies.
Introducing hunger mechanics without letting us prepare? ROXOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOR
[survival] I shall scrounge around for edible stuff
[survival] I will assist.
[survival success, two degrees] I found some fruit that's probably not poisonous, and a river where we could fish.
A river? Cool *first splashes Aurora, then slaps her in the face*
'Sup? Hey, where are we, I don't remember shit.
Our current whereabouts remain unknown.
Can I use [surface navigation] to determine where we are?
Yeah, no.
How about [survival]?
Gtfo.
The acolytes manage to avoid the perils of hunger, but it soon gets dark and they are tired. And they can't quite just sleep in the middle of the forest, since a rather vicious rain started
I shall use my knowledge of [survival] to find us an unstable cave in which we can sleep because I'm too dumb to think of using it to build a shelter instead!
Good idea
[survival success] Guys, I found a natural cave beneath some mound, but there are no animals here, which is odd. Someone got a glow globe?
Indeed. Comiiiiiing!
[awareness] There is a bone(r) here!
[medicae] And it joins with more bones, forming a skeleton of an animal!
[survival] And the way it's covered in dirt might suggest that it was crushed to death when the ceiling slided down on it!
Cool. Let's set up camp here then.
No objections!
Can I use [survival] to determine what animal it is?
No.
Can I use...
NO
Soon, the rain turned into an extreme thunderstorm. A stray lightning hit somewhere above the cave, and the ground, now moist from the excess of rain, slides down in large numbers, effectively blocking the way out of the cave.
Well shit.
[search] There doesn't seem to be any other way out of this cave.
Do not despair comrades, for I, Pilgrim, will save the day!
[focus power: Push] KAMEHAMEHAAAAAAAA (actual in-game footage)
The wall of dirt is blown away and our heroes are free to march out. They keep marching for two more days, each of them being very much the same as the first one. But before they can start panicking, they come to a clearing in the forest, where trees were chopped up by human tools. Civilisation is nearby!
[survival] They've been cut down by axes.
[focus power: sense presence] I detect four people up to 70 metres to the northeast.
BBRRRTTT, ZZAAP, MALFUNCTION.
*Dagon has lost connection and will not return before the end of the adventure. Roxor assumes direct control and Dagon becomes another combat bot with like 3 lines later on.*
[conceal] I scout ahead.
[commbead] There are four people here. Woodcutters. Other than the axes, they are unarmed.
YEEEEHAAAAW *shoots shotgun into the air*
Hoodoo larps Deso pretty well. Anyway, let's meet them woodcutters.
'Sup?
HAIL TRAVELLERS, welcome to the kingdom of Ascandia. What brings you here?
*tells of what has transpired so far*
Oh, we should take you to our totally safe and pleasant village. It's the only one in the region, actually.
What is its name?
Dajjaal
[forbidden lore: OOC] So we're going to a village named 'Antichrist'? This will end well.
The acolytes follow the woodcutters to the village. It's a primitive backwater shithole with no more than two dozen houses. The people are all dirty and look at the players with obvious contempt.
They arrive at the mayor's house.
Welcome, travellers! We don't get many new faces here. My name is Yuri and I'm the mayor of this fine establishment.
[psyniscience] (This man is a psyker!)
*Tells the story of how they got here* Also, where are we, just by the way?
You are in the kingdom of Ascandia on the world of Acreage. Not much of a kingdom without a king, as he died without naming an heir and everything went to shit thanks to bickering nobles. And it looks to me like you could use an evac, strangers. I can send a message to the capital of Orlakan and arrange transportation.
I am extremely suspicious of your motives, name and general grimdarkness of the universe. *On commbead* Commander Aurora, investigate his office while we distract him.
[conceal] Sure thing.
[sense presence + psyniscience]
Very well, let us [blather] him to death.
Indeed. [focus power: suggestion] Let us move outside, mayor?
[resistance: psychic powers, success] Most certainly
Actual in-game footage up ahead:
Rabble rabble Emprah rabble rabble
Rabble rabble? Rabble!
Rabble rabble purge the unclean rabble rabble
rabble rabble rabble
Rabble rabble!
[search failure] Only thing I could find was some useless documents. There's also a totally non-suspicious fireplace here, butsince it's totally non-suspicious, I won't check it out further...
... if Roxor tells me it's non-suspicious, is it actually suspicious?
[end conceal]
Well, you can stay at miss Jeleen's house, she has empty beds. Hope you enjoy your stay, I'll make sure to notify you of any answers I get from the capital. BYE
On their way out, the players find a man who just identifies himself as 'The Constable' and tells them to mind their own bizniz ' cuz we dun like yer kind 'round hier'.
The players arrive at miss Jeleen's house.
Greetings travellers! I am the town's infodump (TM)!
Pleasure to meet you.
Would you care for some delicious
baby meat? Our town is extremely skilled at preparing meat!
Meat, disgusting :vegetarian:
I USE [SURVIVAL] ON THE MEAT
...
[success] Well, it's red meat, alright.
[noms meat] This is delicious. You have to give me the recipe
Oh, it's mostly prepared in our local slaughterhouse. *wink wink* *hint hint*
Also, did I mention already that I'm obsessed with my basement and spend most of my time there? *wink wink* *hint hint*
That's very interesting.
Indeed. So... what's our next course of actions?
Beats me.
(jesus k reist) Well, maybe you should make a tour of the town and see if adventure finds you!
Sure, why not
The players move out.
[awareness vs shadowing = success] Someone's following us. I shall [conceal] to get a better view *disappears in a side alley*
Let's keep walking as if nothing happened.
It's the constable!
We should get rid of him.
I SHALL PERFORM A SERMON IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET
[focus power: inspiring aura] I SHALL INSPIRE YOU TO DO SO
I will take a leak into the bush.
After 20 minutes of sermon, the constable is bored and leaves.
[conceal] [silent move] I follow him.
Meanwhile, the players find a barn, which is odd, because the mayor said they don't need livestock, and none could be found in the town.
[sense presence] There's one guy inside.
You know what that means.
Quite. [focus power: push] KAMEHAMEHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
*is crushed by the incoming door* AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
There doesn't seem to be anything more than wood and haystacks here.
No wait, there's one more door *opens it*
The inner section of the barn stores a fine assortment of hanged and gutted people.
Shit just got serious.
Let's torch this place.
... MEANWHILE...
[conceal] I follow the constable to the mayor's house and listen at the door.
Well, them newcomers seem like a bunch of nutjobs.
[sense presence + psyniscience] Indeed? (gestures to the constable to shut the fuck up and follow him)
Aurora hears a loud clang and moves inside to find that nobody's present.
[search success] The totally non-suspicious fireplace has been tampered with! There's a lever behind a loose brick *pulls lever, a trapdoor opens, goes down trapdoor*
Aurora finds a door at the end of the staircase beneath the trapdoor
[awareness failure] I take a peek behind the door and it seems the coast is clear.
[chameleon]
Aurora moves in... and the door slams shuts behind her!
KIND OF YOU TO CHOOSE YOUR TOMB [focus power: firebolt, invokes two fire bolts with 10 overbleed]
Behind the mayor appears the constable and three... creatures. They are covered with nothing other than chains and seals, their eyes are bleeding and their mouths spit out gore. They also happen to sport really mean-looking axes.
RAAAARRGGH
[dodge, success by three degrees] Your firebolts cannot touch me! *sprints towards the corridor*
But after a curve, the corridor is a dead end.
Shit shit [hide]
Clever of you to seek shelter, scum... however, I do not need eyes to see! [focus power: fire bolt, ten overbleed again]
[dodge, two degrees]
MEANWHILE....
As the barn is torched and Aurora is getting raped, a loud siren erupts in the village, and some vox caster somewhere yells 'The stars have spoken! Our masters hunger, and you shall feed them, heathens! Slaanesh will feast on your souls, Khorne on your blood, Nurgle on your flesh and Tzeentch on your minds!''
This can't quite be good.
The villagers start leaving their houses en masse, and go after the acolytes, frenzied and hungry for blood.
[common lore: war] We should fall back to the barn and entrench!
After which happens an epic, visceral and breathtaking combat of our three acolytes + two combat bots, against an angry mob of 50 enraged villagers.
lololo Deathwatch horde rules.
This is bullshit.
After much butthurt, lots of rolling, swiping, shooting, exploding, etc, the mob is wiped out to the last man. The players actually take almost no damage at all.
Yet they don't find the mayor's or the constable's corpses amidst the slaughterfest.
TO THE MAYOR'S HOUSE!
MEANWHILE...
Aurora gets bumrushed by the three creatures, but evades combat. The constable tries to shoot her with an adamantium-tipped stake of his catechist crossbow, but misses. The scum makes a desperate run for it, using her powergamed agility to her advantage.
lololo not so fast, scum [focus power: blood boil] [opposed willpower: success by 3 degrees]
[willpower: failure by 6 degrees]
Jesus Christ [fate re-roll: failure by 0 degrees]
Blood boil means scum gets one point of fatigue + one for each degree of success of the caster in the opposed check. Scum has only one point of toughness bonus, which means two points of fatigue make her pass out. However, each point of excess fatigue from blood boil gives 5 wounds. So Aurora takes 10 wounds, and is down to 0 hp. When down to 0 hp under blood boil, the character dies.
So long, Aurora
*the door is kicked in*
AURORA, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
[forbidden lore: daemonology] Those three creatures are Dybuk killers, lesser types of daemonhosts!
We are fucked.
And with this lovely cliffhanger, our session ended. What could be the outcome of this unholy battle? What is there to be found in this Emperor-forsaken cave beneath the mayor's house? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!
The answer of these and many other questions will be revealed soon