DreamLyrics™ Play-by-Post Forums Horror ACS: Achtung! Cthulhu - The Black Sun ACS: The Forgotten Passage

((OOC Does four successes add Momentum to the pool or could it be accounted for that maybe two prisoners freed. What do you think? Also, I think just keep this thread?))

OOC: Yes only needed 2, so 2 successes adds 2 momentum. You can account for two prisoners if you want to go that route. I am fine with it. Can't negate a 20 though so we still have a mess brewing.

((OOC Yes I'd prefer to spend the good roll on possibly saving two imaginary nameless lives vs doing a really boss edgelord axe attack because I'm tender-hearted))

[OOC: I will lower the Momentum to 4, and you can write it up]

Jean-Jacques Lupien

Like the big Nova Scotian coyotes, who, despite their wolf interbreeding, maintained the species' subtleties of subterfuge, Jean-Jacques picked his spots as he maneuvered along the wall. He made good time through the shadows to free his prisoner and managed to ease her down enough to send her off from the pillar the moment his thumb-knife had neatly shorn the knot of rope.

Pressing on with his good fortune he moved to the central pillar and had cut free the older man whose own terror seemed to have exhausted him.

But across the way, there was trouble. Walker was good in a scrap but maybe was better with dogs than people and her poor terrified prisoner was reacting badly. He grabbed the old man to pull him behind the pillar as he saw the troopers stop their chanting and pulled out their weapons. He hoped SWann and Nilsson and the others were in position to drop the hammer or he didn't see how he'd be getting out of there.

[OOC: I will post for the NPCs, or anyone can really, but letting Isabella get a first post in.]

{Isabella}

The first part of their plan seemed to develop as Jean-Jacques and Walker slipped int the chamber and began to release the prisoners. Isabella let the other soldiers make their way up before her, so that support fire could be laid down. Was that Swann or Nilsson that was in front of her, she wondered.

As soon as the she heard German being spoken, she pushed the others up faster. "Now!" she hissed and could only wait until they went up one by one -- a line of fire being put forth to let another soldier up. Isabella was frustrated that she had to wait, but it meant she would be able to pick out the leader better as others were occupied. She began to prepare for the release of the banishment spell.

Once she was up - the scene was more dire than she had thought. The Calling through the ritual had been interrupted, but the Ancient Horror seemed momentarily in stasis as chants had ceased. As she dove for cover to her left, Isabella looked for the reaction of the Black Sun master in order to gauge her next step - then saw the tentacled creature. It was vile and she knew by revolting gut reaction that bullets alone wouldn't bring it down. As soon as she could would attempt banishment with the Sign of Ogham.


[OOC: Sorry I had guests for movie night and couldn't get to this. A lot happening at once, but hoping that the actions are clear based upon original role. 1) Spell prep. 2) up the trap door to room. 3.) cover. 4) observation. 5) prepare for attack.]

[OOC: It is a fine write up! I will have to do some thinking in how I want to set up the next post. There are some mechanics that I need to look up and deal with. Probably get it done over the weekend.

No worries on being busy. We are moving along at a great clip, honestly. Better than I had originally thought. This is the big scene, so I want to get it right.]

[OOC: Let's start with a roll for the spell. I am going to treat this a form of Counterspell, as in the intention of the effect it to disrupt the ritual, ie prevent the servitor from manifesting on this plane. Does that work? If so let us see how many successes are generated. Remember you can buy up to 3 additional d20s, 1 Threat will be added to my pool per d20 added, but obviously the trade off is it offers the potential of additional successes.

Once we have the results of the spell, The 4 Black Sun troopers will act, as they are reacting to Walker and her complication. Then we can go on to one of the PCs/NPC good guys, back and forth. I think it will make our action a bit more pithy.]

{Isabella}

Getting eyes on the servitor, she felt the best way to banish it was not to let the ritual complete. Using the Sign of ham as a base to create a counter spell she spun her hands and fingers around as if writing the language of the ancients in the fabric of the multiverse itself. With a force of voice she released the spell.

"Beithe Ailm Nion Idad Straif Muin Eadhadh Nion Tinne Uath!!!" But something didn't feel completely right at the end. She prepared herself for a potential recoil effect.



Isabella counter spell attempt to break the ritual; purchasing extra roll Target 13?
Lionhawke rolled 1d20,1d20,1d20 and got 7, 11, 20

Isabella began her chant. The sonorous asynchronous chanting in German struggles and falters but doesn't fail. She knows that she will have to continue to work to disrupt it fully.

However the Black Sun troopers fire at Walker striking the pillar near her. The prisoner finally takes the hint and runs towards the group only to be struck by machine gun fire. It is unclear if he is dead or merely wounded.

Crook takes umbrage with gunfire at his mistress and charges toward. He leaps upon one of the troopers and bites his arm. The dog begins to shake his head and body back and forth worrying the wound a bit more. From the anguished cries it is clear the trooper is in pain.


The leader continues to chant but moves into cover behind a pillar that still has a prisoner tied to it.

The thing above the altar seems like it is writhing in space.

[PCs and Squad members can make notice rolls. Go ahead and roll for all of the good guys.

The complication from Isabella's roll isn't immediately apparent.

Good guys turn. You may do the notice and wait for the results before acting.]

Nilsson, Insight + Observation 11
Vryx rolled d20,d20 and got 18, 4
One success

Swann, Insight + Observation 8
Vryx rolled d20,d20 and got 2, 10
One success

Gregg, Insight + Observation 12 (Instincts 3)
Vryx rolled d20,d20 and got 10, 20
One success, one complication

Walker, Insight + Observation 8
Vryx rolled d20,d20 and got 4, 19
One success

Crook, Insight + Observation 13 (Smell and Taste 3)
Vryx rolled d20,d20 and got 13, 4
Two successes

Lupien, Insight + Observation 10 (Instincts 2)
Vryx rolled d20,d20 and got 19, 1
One critical success

It must be the adrenalin kicking in, as almost everyone notes that there is the faintest trails of black smoke going from an open book on the altar to the window that the thing is coming through.

[OOC: Good Guy turn]

{Isabella}

Refocusing on the spell, Isabella continues to attempt a disruption of the ritual. Taking a deep breath, she belts out the ancient Celtic words as if by will to drown out the evil German.

Isabella counter spell attempt to break the ritual;Target 13?
Lionhawke rolled 1d20,1d20 and got 8, 6

no extra roll was purchased on purpose.

[OOC: Two successes. Going to let NPCs and Jean go, before I post any results.

Lionhawke, feel free to run an NPC or two, if you would like. That way we can work our way through this scene. ]

Jean-Jacques Lupien

Jean-Jacques took stock of the situation. The lady Isabella seemed to understand about these dark rituals. Espying the thin trail coming from the altar to the unholy beast's appearance and figuring four legs were faster than two, called across the room, "Walker! Have our doggie fetch le livre noir, the black book, and bring it to Isabella!"

Then his eye tracked the man who looked like the leader of the Nazi cultists using a tied prisoner and pillar as coverage from gunfire. "Well," Jean-Jacques, chuckled, "I think that's ok by me."

He took off from where he'd left his second freed prisoner behind a pillar and in long strides crossed the floor to where the leader continued to lead his chant, safe from bullets perhaps.

Jean-Jacques Lupien, the former lumberjack, came up swinging at the backside of the pillar like it was the last pine standing before quota was met.

"Hey, you," he said to the German, "Shut up, eh?"

Spend one d20 from the pool
Jean-Jacques Lupien
Axe Attack on leader (Agility + Fighting 12)
Vryx rolled d20,d20,d20 and got 9, 14, 18
Just one success. Theoretically, that guy gets to make an Agility + Fighting to defend, I think?
If Jean-Jacques wins, he will apply Physical Stress: 4D+2 Vicious (+1 Stress for each effect rolled)
Challenge Dice: 1 is a 1, 2 is 2, 3 and 4 are 0, 5 and 6 are 1 + effect
Jean-Jacques Lupien Axe Attack on leader damage
Vryx rolled d6,d6,d6,d6 and got 4 (0), 3 (0), 6 (1 + 1), 6 (1 + 1)
Jean-Jacques Lupien Axe Attack on leader bonus damage
Vryx rolled d6,d6 and got 6 (1 + 1), 5 (1 + 1)
So that would be 8 Stress
He subtracts his armor. If it is 5 or more still, he gets an injury I think?

((ooc redid because I realized that the bonus damage due to his Brawn are dice, not just a flat +2))

{Isabella}

While she felt that her second attempt at the counterspell might have had a greater effect, she wasn't sure yet. Isabella heard the big Canuck suggest the dog grab the book of rituals. It was a great idea and she hoped that Walker could communicate it to the canine soldier.

In fact, Walker barked out the command while dodging the latest volley from the Germans.

[OOC I agree with Vryx - other than slight movements of NPCs in direct relationship to an exchange with a main character - I don't want to presume too much on their actions.]

Walker called "fháil*" to Crook. The dog responded immediately and leapt forward, propelling itself toward the altar on its four legs.

Walker stepped forward around the pillar, leveled her Thompson submachine gun at a Black Sun trooper near the dog, and fired a quick burst. The gun sounded incredibly loud in this space but seemed to have the desired effect. One of the rounds struck the man, and he sat down on his butt, looking dazed. Though his uniform is dark, a rivulet of blood can be seen leaking from the hole Walker created.

Crook arrived at the altar and grabbed the ancient tome in his mouth, though all could still see the black stream of smoke coming from it, still rising into the air.

Isabelle is sure that her actions hadn't stopped the ritual, and she is quite concerned that whatever it is that they are summoning, is about to step through on to this plane of existence.

Private Dan Gregg slipped from the shadows, almost as if not seen, and pulled the trigger on his Thompson. His weapon sent a burst out towards the middle of the troopers, adding to the smoke and noise. The hapless Black Sun trooper sprouts a couple of different fonts of blood. Though he is still alive, he is not doing very well.

From a different shadow, there is the slightest sound as an arrow lances out towards another trooper. In the chaos of noise and smoke, his arrow doesn't find its mark.

Captain Swann offers a grim smile as his troops do what they were trained to do. He levels his suppressed machine gun and lets loose a burst. The burst strikes a trooper right in the chest, and sits him on his butt looking dazed. A small bit of blood leaks from the hole in his chest.



*=get in Gaelic

[OOC:
Walker Shoot a trooper
Pandemonium rolled 1d20,1d20 and got 12, 16
Walker Damage
Pandemonium rolled 1d6,1d6,1d6,1d6 and got 5, 2, 4, 4 = 3 stress and an effect:Stun Trooper #1
Walker Damage
Pandemonium rolled 1d6,1d6,1d6,1d6 and got 2, 2, 2, 1=7 stress That makes 10 stress on Trooper #1 and stunned.
The trooper has 2 armor and 2 resistance, so 4 from that 10=6 which offers a wound/harm. #1 has 1 wound enough to take him out.

Gregg Attack
Pandemonium rolled 1d20,1d20 and got 9, 9
Gregg Damage
Pandemonium rolled 1d6,1d6,1d6,1d6,1d6 and got 2, 2, 1, 4, 1 = 6 Stress on a different trooper #2.
Gregg Damage
Pandemonium rolled 1d6 and got 3=No effect
6 stress - 2 resistance and 2 armor, 2 stress taken by on #2

Sven Attack
Pandemonium rolled 1d20,1d20 and got 15, 16 Wiff

Captain Attack
Pandemonium rolled 1d20,1d20 and got 5, 8 Adds a point of Momentum
Captain Damage
Pandemonium rolled 1d6,1d6,1d6 and got 3, 4, 1=1 stress on #3.
Captain Damage
Pandemonium rolled 1d6,1d6,1d6,1d6 and got 3, 1, 4, 6=2 stress + Stun #3 takes 3 stress and sits stunned

The Black Sun leader looks at the big Canuk and smiles as he comes around the pillar. He steps away from the swing of the axe, and raises his arms speaking a guttural phrase.

The shadows in the room seem to gather, the gloom sticking to the Black Sun troopers making them more difficult to see. However, to Jean's surprise, the spell seems to backfire on the leader, making a black silhouette outline actually having the opposite effect for him.

The remaining 3 troopers open fire. The spray of bullets seem to have no effect other than pinging the walls, till Captain Swann grunts.

However, as a veteran of several combats, everyone sees it has little effect. He will have some bruising on his chest, but his tactical armor and fatigues keep the worst from happening.



3 successes adding 2 threat
Stoller Defend
Pandemonium rolled 1d20,1d20 and got 10, 2

Stoller Cast Mask of the Faceless Sphinx -1 to hit Stoller and -2 on his armor, +1 to hit all other troopers and they gain +2 cover
Pandemonium rolled 1d20,1d20,1d20,1d20 and got 20, 5, 7, 4 = 3 successes, and 1 major complication

Essentially this means you gain a bonus to hit, and damage Stoller, but a minus to hit and damage the regular troopers.

Troopers Attack
Pandemonium rolled 1d20,1d20,1d20,1d20,1d20,1d20 and got 18, 13, 14, 4, 17, 12 Dang only one hit.

Trooper Who to Attack
Pandemonium rolled 1d6 and got 6 Captain Swann

Trooper Damage
Pandemonium rolled 1d6,1d6,1d6,1d6,1d6,1d6,1d6,1d6 and got 5, 5, 5, 3, 4, 4, 6, 1 = 5 stress - 1 armor =4 stress.

OOC: New round PCs act
Isabella can make a Notice and Observation roll.

((OOC couple questions on the Trooper Damage, Pande, as I'm grasping the system. They rolled 8D with their gun? That seems like more than any of the weapons in the rules, unless they have some kind of enhancement due to skill, etc? Also, they rolled 4 effects on those 8 dice. Most of the time with guns the effect is Vicious which means another point of damage. Or do NPCs just have a set damage and don't use the weapon rules?

Also, should I wait for Isabella's perception check to go?))

So, damage is done to the Challenge dice. On a d6, see the table either in the rules or in the reference sheet in the forum. Essentially 1 is 1 stress, 2 is 2 stress, 3 and 4 are blanks (nothing), 5 or 6 are 1 stress and an effect. In this case I activated the Stun effect from the Thompsons, for the effect.

I didn't take time to look it up in the rules, I was using the SRD. The SRD said Challenge dice are influenced by the skill of the shooter, which for most of the PCs this is a boon. Captain Swan for example has 4 fighting, which adds 4 CD to a hit. Correct me if I did it incorrectly, or say "bozo" and I will go read that section of the rules. I was trying to get the post up, which I owed you two.


No Need to wait on Isabella, go ahead and go. Isabella will be noticing or not, the complication she rolled. I expect to hear "Bad Dog" very soon. ]

((ooc Pande, no that isn't right. I don't think.
Page 142 details the bonus challenge dice. It's definitely not the skill. Skill just gives a 1 higher chance to succeed per point.
Bonus challenge dice are based on the attribute, for high attributes. An 8 or lower is no bonus die. A 9 is one bonus die. A 10 or 11 is two. Going up from there but that's outside our range.
So, Jean-Jacques has a Brawn of 10 and a Coordination of 9. So when he shoots successfully (under coordination (9) + Fighting (3)) he does his gun's weapon damage plus bonus dice. Which is 1 for him. If he's using his axe (rolling under Agility (9) + Fighting (3)) he gets his Brawn bonus dice (2) to add to the axe attack.
))

OOC: Thanks. Brawn is for resistance, Willpower is for Courage (mental resistance). Coordination is for shooting. Since this round is really benefited for the PCs, let me do it correctly the next round.]

Jean-Jacques Lupien

Jean-Jacques cursed as the Nazi leader slipped aside and his axe cracked against the pillar.

"Come 'ere, you slippery muskie!" he muttered as he turned to follow him.

Then he prepared for the worst as he heard those guttural inhuman sounds emanate from the man's throat. But as the room got dimmer and shadows split from the walls to hide the troopers, he saw the shade fade from the man's face as quickly as his serpentine grin. It seemed like the man even glowed in the darkness like a flare.

"Not so funny now, eh?" Jean-Jacques grunted, as he reached down deeply to swing at the brighter target.

Spend 1 Fortune for this scene (1 left): Critical Success. One die is an automatic 1.
Grab 1 die from the Momentum pool.
Jean-Jacques Lupien
Axe Attack on leader (Agility + Fighting 12 + 1 for botched Faceless Sphinx)
Vryx rolled d20,d20 and got 12, 3 in addition to the automatic 1
So, I believe that is 4 successes this time. He gets to defend but that's a tall order.

((OOC It doesn't look like you inflict damage for every success or even extra damage for a critical, that just helps you win the opposed skill check, but since the target number of successes is 1, I think what happens is that 3 are added to Momentum. But then you have the option of spending Momentum to add additional damage with a maximum of 3D. So, I think that I'll do that and do 4D for the axe, plus 2D for Brawn, plus 3D spent that was just earned.))

Jean-Jacques Lupien
Axe damage
Vryx rolled d6,d6,d6,d6,d6,d6,d6,d6,d6 and got 4, 4, 1, 1, 5, 2, 2, 6, 1
With the Vicious Effect that's 11 Stress and Stoller's got -2 on his armor.
If he takes all 11, he might take two Injuries, I believe, which is the max from one attack. One, if his stress level is 11 or less as this would reduce to 0. Another, because the damage was 5 or more.


((OOC
By the way, because Stoller won the melee before, he could have chosen to inflict melee stress damage on Jean-Jacques or move away for free. I picked the moving away in my narrative since you didn't apply damage but if you want to retcon that, that's fine.

Oh and actually, I found where it talks about the bonus stress to attributes, it's actually page 34. I was wrong about using Coordination for bonus damage with guns.

BONUS STRESS
Characters inflict bonus stress based on their attributes.
A character with a high Brawn rolls extra with melee
weapons, while a character with a high Insight rolls extra
with ranged weapons, and a character with high Will
rolls extra with mental attacks.
ATTRIBUTE RATING BONUS CHALLENGE DICE
8 or lower –
9 +1
10 or 11 +2
12 or 13 +3
14 or 15 +4
16 or higher +5))

The Black Sun Leader grimaces at his spell which went awry. Scrambling he tries to avoid the loggerman's axe, and is unable to do so. Jean's axe buries itself in Stoller's side, and he folds like a bad hand of cards.

The font of blood that arises as Jean removes his axe from the wound informs him that the evil sorcerer is no more. There is no way that he could have survived the blow.

However, there are gasps and screams from several others on the other side of the pillar.

[OOC:
You are correct about adding Momentum.
Moving away makes perfect sense for Stoller's MO.
I pulled 2 extra D20s by spending Threat.

Stoller Defense - Rolled 3 successes, Missed it by ... that much.
Pandemonium rolled 1d20,1d20,1d20,1d20 and got 7, 1, 19, 12

Stoller receives two wounds, which is all he has. Assuming no one does anything to try and save him, he will bleed out.

Good Job on taking down the leader!

Isabella needs an action and, of course, the Notice + Observation roll. I understand she is busy, so there is no pressure, I am just articulating things in the latest post so we don't have to hunt for what to do next. ]